Redefining Family
by Wiccagirl24
Summary: The rhythm was different, but it was a rhythm. Tony learned how to lead, the others didn't expect him to be Gibbs. Even Abby returned to her usual self, though the music was never quite as loud nor the smile as bright as they had been. post Hitus
1. Chapter 1

b Disclaimer/b I'd give up my first born child to own this show, or any of the characters, but as I have no children I have nothing to offer.

b Spoilers/b Takes place beginning about an hour after Hiatus part 2. Spoilers for that, and little canon mentions for season 4.

b A/N/b This fic originally started as my way of explaining why Ducky was so angry at Gibbs in the start of season 4. It ended up being more about how the team reformed after Gibbs left, and in particular how Abby coped. Don't fear, Gibbs will return. Not for a while, though. This fic is complete, but is too long for one entry. I'll post once a day for the next 6 days.

I owe a massive thanks to Lonelywalker who beta'd this not once but twice. I also want to thank NYC-Iby and Cattylizzie for the read-throughs, and Dragonessasmith who poked me more than once to finish this.

II

Gibbs was out of the car the moment it came to a stop in front of the house- not running up the sidewalk, but moving quickly. He fumbled for keys and opened the front door of the two-story green house, closing it a moment later. Later, when thinking about it, Ducky would wonder if he had only been anxious to get home and sleep in his own bed or if he had already decided that he was leaving and didn't want to answer any questions. Ducky sat in the car for fifteen minutes, not following his friend but not ready to leave him either. He watched until a light shone from Gibbs' bedroom window before driving away.

It was late and he should have gone home. There was something nagging him though, a small voice in the back of his head that prodded him to return to the navy yard. The security guard didn't blink when he flashed his ID; though he usually tried to leave at a normal hour to spend his evenings with Mother, it was not unheard of for him to return to the office at night once she had gone to bed. He rode the elevator up to the bullpen first, but found it empty. Gibbs' badge was sitting in the middle of Tony's desk, his gun tucked away out of sight.

His own workspace was in order, the dead put to rest and the living gone. One last place to check and he would allow himself to go home and catch a few hours of sleep before returning in the morning.

Abby's lab was still; the only light came from blinking equipment and clear**-**fronted coolers. The outer lab was empty and he thought the inner sanctum was too, until he stopped long enough to listen. There was the faintest sound coming from the vicinity of Abby's work area. Moving the chair out of the way, he crouched down and found a huddled figure curled up in the space under her desk.

"Abby?" he said softly, touching a single finger to her forearm. Her only response was to pull tighter into herself and press her forehead to the far side of the desk. He stayed just as he was until his calves started to cramp, then sat down with his legs crossed and continued to wait.

"He's not coming back, is he Ducky?" Her throaty whisper was so quietly spoken that he almost didn't hear it.

"I don't know," he answered honestly.

"He's not coming back." This time it was a statement, and loud enough that the noise startled him. She turned to face him, her eyes red and her cheeks stained with black streams of non-waterproof makeup mixed with tears. He reached a hand out to her, and she fell towards him. Her face buried in his shoulder and her hand grabbed at the labels of his jacket as if seeking a lifeline.

"Oh, Abigail." He wrapped his arms around her and tried not to curse the man who had made the strongest woman he knew this weak. After a time she let out a restrained cry and pulled away from him.

"I need to... I should..."

"Should get some rest," he supplied. She looked at him as if she couldn't understand his words, but finally nodded. Ducky stood up and stepped backwards to give her the room to do the same. Abby looked from the keys resting on her desk to the cabinet across the room where her futon was stored. Ducky didn't like the thought of either option.

"Come on, my dear." With an arm around her waist he led her to the elevator, upstairs and out of the building. She didn't say a thing as he held open the passenger door of his Morgan, but mechanically climbed in and stared blankly out the window. Ducky reached around her and clicked the seat belt into place. When they reached his home he repeated the pattern in reverse, unbuckling the safety restraint and leading her inside. His mother popped her head out of her bedroom door and scowled, making a comment about sleep overs being inappropriate on school nights. Ducky nodded to appease her before helping Abby up the stairs, and opening the door of the guest room.

"Sleep, Abby." He waited for half an hour before checking on her. She was lying on top of the bed, clothes and shoes still on. He removed the latter and covered her with a pair of quilts, making sure to close the door firmly behind him when he left. The last thing Abby needed was one of his mother's dogs to nose its way into her room.

II

The guest room was empty the next morning when he woke up. He found Abby sitting at the dining room table, playing with a plate of eggs and bacon.

"Donald, have you met our breakfast guest? She is the most fascinating young lady. She has a spider on her neck." His mother pointed dramatically to the tattoo that he was so used to that he didn't even notice anymore.

"Yes, Mother. Abby is a friend of mine from work. You've met her before, remember?" He poured himself a cup of tea from the pot on the sideboard and sat down at the table, eyeing his overnight guest carefully.

"I don't think so, Donald. I would have remembered the spider." Ducky only slightly shook his head and turned his attention to Abby.

"How are you this morning?" he asked.

"Right as rain." Abby looked up from her plate and smiled at him. The action was insincere and warred with the haunted look in her eyes.

"I'm leaving for work in a few minutes. Do you want me to drop you at home first?"

"I have extra clothes in the lab," she answered, though that was not at all what Ducky was asking. He left it alone, though. There was only so much he could do.

Work was strange, as everyone went through the motions of a normal day, on a day that was anything but. Dispatch didn't call them with a case - most likely the result of the Director's orders. They all did paperwork, everyone trying to avoid looking at the empty desk. Abby never even came up to the bullpen. Ducky did, more often then usual, and though Tony rolled his eyes at the weak excuses for visits,Ducky suspected that he was secretly grateful.

Everyone left at a normal hour, which was decidedly not normal for them. Ducky went up to the lab to check in on Abby only to discover that she was already gone.

II

"I'll take this up to Abby. You start stitching Private Moore back together, Mr. Palmer." Ducky held the evidence bags in his hand.

"Really Dr. Mallard?" Jimmy asked, not able to keep the excitement out of his voice. It wasn't often that he was left unsupervised during any stage of an autopsy, not even for such a simple one.

"I think you can handle the responsibility." He walked out into the antechamber and pressed the up button for the elevator. It had been two weeks since Gibbs' abrupt departure, and things were finally settling down. The rhythm was different, but it was a rhythm nonetheless. Tony was learning how to lead, and the others were learning not to expect him to be Gibbs. Even Abby was returning to her usual self, though the music in the lab was never quite as loud nor the smile quite as bright as they had been. He made sure to check on her more then he used to, but refused to bring her any of the disturbingly caffeinated drinks with which Gibbs had used to bribe her. It was a moot point anyway; Tony had brought her a Caf-Pow! a week after Gibbs had left, and she had turned it down. She had claimed that she had lost her taste for the beverage.

"Abby, I have fingerprints and blood samples for you," he announced as the glass doors parted to let him into the lab.

"Thank Ducky. Can you put them on the..." Without warning her face paled and she ran from the room. He placed the evidence on the table, but waited for her to return. She was back in a few minutes, scrawling her initials on the chain of evidence forms.

"Sorry about that," she said as she pulled a bottle of water off the shelf in the cooler reserved for non-evidence. She downed half the container in a single gulp.

"I hope you're not coming down with anything." She worked hard and he knew she didn't sleep much. It's always surprised him that she has never called in sick, and he wondered if it was finally catching up with her.

"Not sick," she answered. She looked him straight in the eye. "I'm pregnant."

"What?" It took him more than a minute to get the single syllable past his tongue, and he could only stare at her in shock. Finally he blinked twice and focused. "How did this happen?"

"The usual way, Ducky. I hope I don't have to explain the facts of life to you, because by this point there are some things that you should just know." She finished the rest of the water and threw it into a trash-can that already contained half a dozen empty bottles.

"That's not what I mean, Abigail, as you are perfectly aware. I mean who is the young man and why haven't I heard about him? We agreed after the fiasco with Mikel that you would tell me if you needed help."

"This was nothing like Mikel, though you are a sweetheart for worrying. The man-the father- is a good person."

"Good. When do I get to meet him?" He would never consider himself old fashioned, and was well aware that Abby could take care of herself, but that didn't stop him from wanting to meet whoever was playing such an important role in his friend's life.

"You can't, Duck. He's gone." She half turned away from him, picking up the first of the evidence bags.

"Gone? How can you say he is a good person if he would just up and leave a..." Understanding dawned in a flash and he pressed his lips together. "Oh."

"It was the night Mikel made it onto the Navy Yard and Gibbs took me home. I didn't want to be alone and he let me stay in his bed, which was pretty cool of him considering I had just drunk half his scotch and broken his boat. I kissed him, to say thank you and because I had always wanted to. He kissed me back and..." She looked down to her stomach briefly and shrugged. " Neither of us gave a thought to protection. Apparently the stars were lined up just right."

"Does he know?" Ducky asked, taking a step closer to her.

"I didn't know until about a week ago."

"Are you going to..." Abby shook her head before the question was even asked.

"He's in Mexico, building boats or fishing or whatever retired agents do. And even if he were here, it's Shannon and Kelly he wants, not me and baby mistake." The computer chair was right behind her, and she sank into it.

"A baby is never a mistake." He wanted to lecture her about her opinions of Gibbs, but knew better then that. Besides, at that moment he wasn't feeling too inclined to defend his friend. There was one fact he needed to make sure she was clear on, though. "Whatever else you feel this baby is a gift, and the two of you are not alone."

"You are more then a girl deserves," Abby said. She smiled, and this time it reached her eyes.

II

Even given her thin frame, Abby had a few months before proof of her impending motherhood would be visible. She didn't want any of the others to know until that time, and Ducky promised to keep her secret, but only on his terms. She had already stopped the caffeine habit, but he insisted that she cut back on her hours and wrote her a prescription for prenatal vitamins. He also made out a list of chemicals that were known to cause harm to fetuses. If she came across a test that required one of the chemicals she was to page him and he would be her assistant.

When he gave her the name of an ObGyn that came highly recommended, she asked him to drive her to the first appointment. He was holding her hand when the doctor told her that everything looked good and the baby was developing on schedule. She was due in the beginning of February. Abby hadn't known what to feel at the news; she wasn't at all ready or wanting this change to her life, but the baby was part of Gibbs and might be all that she ever had of him. Ducky was only pleased at the news, and kissed her on the cheek.

The next morning he showed up in the lab with a gift wrapped package:a black onesie with a grinning skull and crossbones on it. Hot Topic had a line of clothing for infants.

II

"Sorry, Tony, but this isn't your murder weapon." Pressing a few keys on the computer's keyboard, Abby pulled up the magnified view of two bullets, their markings different enough that there was no doubt they didn't match.

"Damn it, I was sure that he did it. When I interviewed him..." Tony lost his words and his grasp on the gun when the pig-tailed woman in front of him doubled over. Long white fingers grasped at the computer stand and eyes widened in fear as she looked at him.

"Go get Ducky," she ground out between teeth clenched together.

"Abbs, what's wrong? What can I..."

"Ducky," she opened her mouth long enough to yell. Punching the button on the video comm that had only been installed a week ago, Tony paged autopsy.

"Get up to the lab now," he ordered the moment the ME's face appeared. Then, with one arm at her neck and the other behind her knees, he lifted the moaning woman onto the evidence table. "It's going to be okay, Abby," he promised, despite the fact that he had not a clue what was going on.

"Tony, what was so important that you couldn't even use a simple 'please?'" Ducky was out of breath when he ran into the lab. He took in the scene before him immediately and headed straight to Abby's side.

"She folded over, Duck. She's hurting. Fix her." Looking and sounding completely like Gibbs, Tony gestured at the table. Ducky, in turn, pointed to the phone.

"Don't just stand there. Call for an ambulance." Ducky cupped a hand to Abby's cheek and rolled her head so that she was facing him. "Tell me where it hurts."

"Sharp pains below my... abdominal muscles, stabbing... and twisting like a screwdriver with... a really sharp edge." Her description was forced out between waves of pain. She summoned her strength to grab at the doctor's hand for a moment. "Please Ducky tell me it's not the baby. I can't lose the baby." Call it instinct or awareness or grim determination, but the moment she had realized that the baby was in trouble she had also known with certainty that she wanted it. The baby was hers and she'd be damned if she was going to let it go.

"I will do everything in my power to keep both of you safe," Ducky promised. Abby closed her eyes in relief, but even then Ducky refused to let any doubt creep into his expression. He hoped that he could keep his promise, but if it came down to a choice he knew that he would pick Abby's life over that of the baby.

"Is the ambulance on its way?" he asked as he turned his attention to Tony.

"Yes it is. Did she say baby?" His face was twisted in an expression that only Tony DiNozzo could pull off. Ducky nodded.

"Yes, Tony. Our girl is almost three months pregnant."

"And the father?" Tony asked.

"That is between him and Abby," Ducky answered shortly. Tony nodded, and went out into the corridor to wait for the paramedics. There wasn't much for Ducky to do until they arrived, other than check on her pulse and hold her hand. He did both, relieved to find a heartbeat that was still strong. Her hand was cold, though, and she barely returned his squeeze. He took off his lab-coat and covered her with it then stood at her side to wait.

"They're here," Tony shouted a moment before the elevator pinged and the doors swished open. Two men, laden with equipment and pushing a gurney, entered the room.

"What seems to be wrong, sir?" One man asked while the other went directly to Abby and pressed two fingers to the side of her neck.

"She's experiencing severe cramping," Ducky explained. "She's approximately eleven weeks pregnant."

After checking her pulse and slipping an oxygen mask over her face, Abby was lifted with care onto the gurney. Ducky blanched when he saw the wet red smear on the metal table. Damn.

"I'm coming with you," he informed the paramedics.

"So am I." Tony insisted from the corner of the room, where he had been standing in an attempt to keep out of the way. Ducky shook his head.

"You're the team leader, Anthony."

"Exactly why I should go with you. Abby's part of my team." He stressed the word 'my.'

"There are other responsibilities to be seen to first. You have to inform McGee and Ziva what is happening, and the Director. Make sure that your case is covered. And if you could let Mr. Palmer know what has happened I'd be grateful. Then, and only then, do I expect to see you at the hospital." As he said the last words the elevator doors closed, leaving Tony alone in the hallway. Tony glanced back into the lab once then headed for the stairs.

II

"So what did Abby have for us?" Ziva asked as he entered the bullpen.

"Have?" For a second Tony was confused. How could Abby have anything? She wasn't even out of her first trimester; it was too soon to have a baby. Mentally he slapped himself. "Abby was just taken to the hospital. Ducky's afraid she might be having a miscarriage."

"Hospital?" McGee jumped out of his seat, the chair toppling over behind him.

"Miscarriage? I am hoping that the definition I have for that word is not accurate." Ziva also stood, slower and more carefully then McGee.

"It probably is." Tony shook his head. "I'm going up to tell Jenny, then we are on the way to join them." He took the stairs two at a time and didn't stop to talk to Cynthia before opening the door to the inner office. He only stayed in the room long enough to give the Director the stark details, then turned around.

"Abby's pregnant? I mean to be worried about miscarriage then Abby has to be pregnant. Right? How can Abby be pregnant?" McGee was standing in the exact spot that he had been when Tony went upstairs. Ziva was nowhere to be seen, and Tony knew that she was already downstairs getting a car for them. For once he wasn't going to complain about her driving.

"Get over it, McGee," he said as he pushed the man in the direction of the elevators. Remembering Ducky's other request he turned to his probie. "Lee, go down to autopsy and tell Palmer where Ducky is. Then watch the phones until it's time to go home and type up whatever reports you should be working on."

"But Agent DiNozzo..." Lee began to protest but Tony and McGee were already across the room and soon disappeared into the elevator. Michelle Lee glowered, and then headed for the back elevator. Like she wanted to go down to autopsy: the ME's assistant was weird.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I still of so much to Lonelywalker for her beta'ing and to my friends for their support. And to all of you, thanks for the reviews.

II

They tried to keep him in the waiting room, but Ducky refused. Fortunately he was on a first name basis with the chief of staff at the hospital, and he was not at all afraid to use the connection. He did stay out of the way as she was examined and an IV line was inserted in the back of her hand, but not so far that he couldn't see her. He only left her for a minute when a nurse informed him that there was a rather rude man in the waiting room demanding to see him. He spoke with Tony briefly as the other two listened, then returned to Abby. When the doctor and nurse left he moved to the worn black stool next to the ER bed. Abby appeared to be sleeping, but just when he had decided to leave her alone to tell the others to go home, her eyes fluttered open.

"Ducky?" He watched as the pupils of her eyes adjusted to the light and focused on him. Her mouth was quirked to one side in an expression that he read as worry.

"It's alright, my dear," he reassured her. "You and the baby are both alright."

"I was so scared," she admitted, her free hand seeking out his.

"You weren't the only one. You have a whole fan club out in the waiting room, pacing and annoying the nurses. Tony is trying to give orders and Ziva has already scared at least one orderly who refuses to come within a hundred feet of her."

"They're here? All of them?" Abby looked around the room as if the team would suddenly appear.

"I couldn't have kept them away if I tried, especially as Tony was the one with you when the pain started." One hand was holding hers tightly, and with the other he tucked a hair that had fallen into her face behind an ear. "They want to come see you as soon as you are settled in a room."

"A room? A room here? As in I have to stay in the hospital overnight?" The readings on the monitor increased, and she took a deep breath in order to slow them.

"The doctor wants to keep an eye on you, make sure nothing like this happens again. It's important for the both of you."

"I know. I just don't like hospitals much." She wrinkled her nose and sighed. Ducky listened to the muted beeping of machinery until she spoke again. "Do they know?"

"About the baby?" Abby nodded. "Yes. Inadvertently you were the one to inform Tony. That's all they know, though. The rest is still our secret."

"Thank you, Ducky."

"It's the least I can do, Abigail." He bit his lip briefly, not sure if he should ask the question that had been in the back of his mind since he climbed into the ambulance with her. After a pause he decided that he would. "Do you want to me to call Jethro for you? I'm sure I can track him down somehow."

"I know how to reach him, but I'm not going to. Especially not now." The hand connected to the IV unconsciously moved, coming to rest on top of her stomach as she covered the fragile life inside.

"Why especially now?" he asked, confused.

"What am I going to say, Duck? Hi Gibbs, how's retirement going? Oh, and by the way I'm pregnant with your baby only by the time you get here, if you are even interested in coming here, the baby might not exist because I'm in the hospital and might miscarry?" She pinched her eyes closed and shook her head quickly. "Nope. He's lost so much already, I'm not going to take this from him too."

Ducky wasn't sure if she meant the baby or his freedom, but didn't ask. He didn't argue either; it was her choice to make and all he could do was respect her decision and help her as much as she would allow.

"We're ready to move Ms. Scuito." A nurse entered the room and Ducky stood.

"Go tell the others what's happening, okay? And bring them up to admire my temporary digs," Abby said as the orderly started to wheel her away.

"Certainly," Ducky agreed. After being informed of the room number, he went out into the waiting room.

"It's about time, Ducky." Tony stopped mid pace and crossed the room.

"Yes, it is. Tony was threatening to break down the doors and go find you." Ziva threw a wrinkled magazine onto the chair next to her.

"That's nothing compared to what you threatened to do to that nurse, Ziva." Making a face, Tony reverted back to his non-leader self for an instant.

"Please, children." Ducky silenced them. They both quieted immediately.

"How is she?" McGee asked, his voice full of emotion.

"Tired, scared, and I dare say nauseous, but the important thing is that she is going to be fine."

"And the baby?" Ducky looked at McGee a moment before answering. He wondered if the man had given any thought to the idea that a year ago the baby she was having might have been his.

"With time and rest and a little bit of luck the baby is going to be okay too." He smiled for the first time, finally believing the doctor's diagnosis. While the others had only had hours to adjust to the idea, the baby had been real to him for almost two months. "Would you like to see for yourself? Not the baby, I mean Abby. She's being settled in a room upstairs to spend a night being observed."

"Yes," all three agents said in a single breath.

II

Unlike the waiting area, Abby's hospital room had a window and it was odd to find that the sun was still shining brightly. Like walking out of a dark movie theatre, even though it was just after four o'clock it felt like it was much later.

"Okay, as team leader I declare that this is the last time we do this whole team member in the hospital thing," Tony announced as he entered the room first. "There are better ways of getting attention, Abbs." It was meant to be a joke but his face was too serious to pull it off. Abby was only slightly more convincing.

"I thought it was much more creative then just filling out vacation request forms, plus I nicely avoided the paperwork."

"You're getting a vacation, according to Ducky. Bed rest for six weeks, at least." Ziva was the next to enter, followed by McGee who didn't have anything witty to say. He studied her carefully and lightly touched her hand.

"I'm not going to break, McGee," she said.

"You're going to be a mom." Unknowingly, McGee was the first to use the title. The doctor had said she was pregnant, and she had thought of it that way. A verb, something that was happening to her. Mom was an identity, and she tried it on. "Mom."

"Yeah, I am. Weird, huh?"

"I think you'll be a good mom," McGee said. Abby looked relieved, and Ducky smiled at the young man from behind, glad that he had answered in such a way.

"You're going to be the first one of us to pop out a junior, Abby. Pretty cool." Tony raised an eyebrow. Abby pressed her lips together. Not the first. Gibbs had been the first, and, though she wasn't about to tell them, he was the second too.

"You're not going to tattoo it, are you?" For some reason Ziva's question struck Abby as hilarious and she laughed. Ducky gave them a few more minutes then silently motioned to Tony that it was time for them to go. Abby needed to rest.

"Ducky?" Abby said when the team had left the room.

"Yes Abby?"

"Can you stay for a little while longer? I mean if you don't have anything you have to get to right away."

"I can stay as long as you would like." He pulled a chair closer to the bed. "Did I ever tell you about the time I rode a train across Siberia? It was part of the USSR then and..."

II

"This is silly, Ducky. I can take care of myself." Abby had been saying the same thing since they had left the hospital, and Ducky had been giving gave her the same response for the same amount of time.

"Are you going to hire a nurse to stay at your apartment with you?" Abby shook her head. "Then how do you intend to cook and clean and take care of yourself without getting out of bed?"

"Magic elves?" she answered. "I'll figure out something."

"When you do, fill me in on the plan. Until then we are going with my stratagem." It was as simple as that, in his opinion.

"I don't want to put you out," she said.

"Don't be ridiculous. You are not putting me out, imposing on me, or being in any other way a bother. If anything you are helping me. For one thing, my mind will be much more peaceful if I know where you are instead of worrying about you. For another, you will probably save the sanity of Ms. Kendle, the woman who stays with mother during the day. I've already told her about you, and she's looking forward to having another rational person to talk to. Mother's conversations are... interesting, to say the least."

"Have you forgotten who you are talking to, Duck? I'm not exactly Mary Sue, average girl next door." Abby closed one eye against the glare of the summer sun coming through the windshield and turned to the driver.

"And I wouldn't have it any other way." He turned to look at her, and she gave up her losing battle. The truth was it would be a relief to have him around.

When they reached the house, he held the door open for her. She expected him to take her up to the room she had used the previous spring, but instead they turned to the left and entered the living room. The couch had been turned at an angle, and under the window was a queen sized bed covered in a black and red quilt.

"I didn't like the idea of you traveling the stairs at all, and besides you would feel too cut off up there," Ducky explained. Tears that hadn't appeared since the night Gibbs left threatened in the corners of her eyes, and Abby threw her arms around him.

"Thank you, Ducky," she whispered against the collar of his checkered shirt.

"You don't have to keep thanking me, Abigail. I'm not doing any more for you then you would for me, should the positions be reversed," he said as he helped her into the bed.

"For sure, Duckman. If you were knocked up and then confined to bed I'd definitely help you out. Then I'd make a call to the National Enquirer."

"Cheeky brat," Ducky muttered affectionately.

"What can I say? It's a gift." Leaning back into the pillows, Abby tried to fight the heaviness of her eyelids but finally gave in. Ducky watched her for a minute, then tiptoed out of the room.

II

"How's Abby?" Tony walked into autopsy looking for the cause of death for a young Marine, but in the two weeks since she had been released from the hospital, inquiries about the Goth had preceded answers for cases.

"To quote our Miss Scutio, bored out of her flipping mind," Ducky answered, gesturing with gloved hands covered in blood.

"Poor Abbs. Before this I don't think I've seen her go more then ten minutes without bouncing or spinning or doing cartwheels."

"Now she's just happy when she's allowed to walk up and down the hall for a few minutes." Always supervised, a fact she continually groused over.

"I have a new computer game for her. It's in my desk upstairs. Can I give it to you before you leave tonight?" Tony asked.

"If you're not doing anything why don't you come and give it to her yourself? I know she'd love to see someone besides myself, mother, or Ms. Kendle." Ducky was hoping the young man would say yes, and not just for Abby's sake. Tony stayed at work as late if not later then Jethro ever had, and Ducky worried about him. An evening talking with Abby, not to mention a good meal, was just what he needed.

"If the case gets cleared up in time I might just do that," Tony agreed. "Now what can you tell me about my Sergeant?"

II

"I met a Princess once."

When Ducky arrived home, Tony following him, he heard his mother's voice coming from the living room. She had decided that she liked their houseguest, though she often forgot why Abby was there. More often then not she forgot about the baby too. He had found her with a ball of yarn once, however, and she had told him that she was knitting booties.

"Tony, Tony, Tony!" Abby waved her arms in the air when the familiar head peeked around the corner.

"Hey Abby. Thought I'd pop over and make sure Ducky's taking good care of you."

"Better then good, Tony. He's the sweetest kindest most thoughtful jailer a girl could ask for."

"I heard that," Ducky called out from the hallway where he was hanging up his coat and hat.

"Whatever you are selling, we don't want it. Go away young man," Mrs. Mallard ordered, noticing Tony's presence for the first time.

"He's not selling anything." Ducky entered the room and slipped his hand under his mother's elbow. "It's almost dinner time. Let's go check on the dogs."

"I don't think we can trust that man with our patient, Donald. He doesn't look like a doctor." But she went with him, leaving Tony to sit in her abandoned chair.

"I could have been a doctor," he said, pretending to be hurt.

"Sure you could have. Phys Ed and Pre-Med are almost exactly the same," she teased.

"They rhyme," he defended.

"Oh, I've missed you. Missed all of you, almost as much as I miss my lab." She hugged him tightly when he leaned over the bed.

"Same goes for you, Abbs. Work's downright boring without you around."

"Four week to go and I'll be back," she promised.

"Only if the doctor gives the go ahead. i _Both_ /i doctors," he added, motioning in the direction in which Ducky had disappeared.

"It's either work or a mental institution, because if I don't get out of this bed I'm going to go mad."

"I may have something to help with that." Picking up the paper bag he had set on the floor, Tony upended the contents onto the bed. DVDs, tapes and a box containing a copy of i _Sims 2_ /i spilled onto the quilt. "The game is yours, the rest is on loan from the DiNozzo video library."

"You're the man, Tony." Abby sifted through the collection, finding movies like i _Serenity_ /i and i _X-3_ /i mixed in with vintage films like i _The Birds_ /i and i _Singing in the Rain_ /i . The tapes were mostly hand labeled and held TV marathons like the i _Twilight Zone_ /i and i _The Man From U.N.C.L.E._ /i Hours of entertainment, even without the new computer game.

"Gotta start the kid's movie education early," Tony insisted.

"You are such a dork," Abby fired back, patting her stomach gently. "The last thing I'm worried about is the peanut's future TV viewing habits."

"What are you worried about?" he asked, his tone growing serious.

"A thousand things, starting with squeezing something the size of a watermelon out a hole the size of a lemon and going up to the years of therapy I'm condemning my kid to by having me as a mom," she answered half seriously. Tony winced at the first image, reflexively crossing his legs, but glared at her over the second.

"You are not going to mess this kid up, Abbs. If I know about anything it's screwed up parents, and you are not someone who has to worry. Is your kid going to be a little different then the average? Yeah, but since she's going to have an entire NCIS team chaperone her first date that's to be expected. The kid's going to be a genius if she is even half as smart as you, plus she'll have kick**-**ass fashion sense."

"I'm a single woman who works with blood and bullets and spends my free time in clubs, Tony. What in the world do I know about parenting?"

"You know a hell a lot about love, and that's really what matters. The rest you learn." He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the bed. "And if the single mother thing bothers you, all you have to do is give me a name and I'll have the peanut's dad begging to help you in any way possible."

"Dinner is ready," Ducky said, walking into the room from the hall where he had been standing the last few minutes. When Tony had made his offer he had stood with baited breath, but when Abby hadn't answered he had decided to give her an easy way out. "Tony, would you mind coming into the kitchen and helping me with the trays?" When Abby threw him a look of gratitude he knew that he had done the right thing.

II

"He's working too hard," Abby commented after Tony left.

"He is," Ducky agreed. "I hoped that he would relax once he figured out his new job, but he hasn't."

"He's still trying to prove himself." Abby twisted her mouth. "Me being gone doesn't help."

"Stuff and nonsense. Besides, it can't be helped. Though I do think maybe you could help Tony out."

"How?" she asked, cocking her head to one side.

"If you asked him to visit he would. We could probably get him out here twice a week, which means two days that he's not staying late and poring over memos, procedures and case files," Ducky explained.

"That is a most excellent idea." Opening up the laptop computer resting next to her on the bed, Abby typed up a quick email and clicked send. "There, all done."

"Well done, my dear. Together we shall keep an eye on him."

"Discreetly, though, like really good spies or something. Speaking of which, I'm in the mood for a good old spy show. What do you say, Duck?" She moved the computer onto the table and patted the bed next to her. "Watch with me?"

"What were you thinking? Bond, perhaps?"

"Nah, Tony brought me some old TV shows today." She passed him the one she wanted and he sighed dramatically. "What, something wrong with the show? I used to love it when I was little."

"I watched it in the beginning, but that character Napoleon Solo was a complete twit and I couldn't stand him." He picked up one of the DVDs Tony brought and looked at her hopefully, but she shook her head.

"Napoleon might have been a twit, but that Illya was dead sexy." Ducky sighed for a second time, but put i _The Man From U.N.C.L.E._ /i in the VCR.

xxxxxxxx

A/N 2: My original intention was that Abby lost the baby, thus creating the Ducky/Gibbs tension when Gibbs came back in season three. Ducky scolded me terribly when I tried to write it that way. Therefore this fic is now AU, and Gibbs is still in Mexico for a few more months.


	3. Chapter 3

"I'll be here exactly at four," Ducky said, standing in the middle of the lab. Abby was sitting at her computer and the man who had been hired to be her assistant was hovering a few feet behind her. The doctor had given her permission to return to work as long as she was careful. No lifting of any sort, no long hours or undue stress.

"You'll be up here long before four," Abby said, leaning back in her chair. "I bet you don't make it until ten before thinking of an excuse to invade my lab."

"Oh good lord." Shaking his head, Ducky left the lab. She knew him too well. He made it to eleven thirty, but that was only on account of the early morning trip to collect a body and the subsequent autopsy. He did send Jimmy upstairs twice, once to deliver evidence and an hour later to ask if she had any results. She sent him back the second time with a message: if he was going to spy on her it would be much more reliable to use the plasma screen.

"I wasn't spying," he said when he entered her lab. He was relieved to find that she was calmly sitting at her desk, typing on the computer and drinking from a bottle of water. He sat across from her and opened the small cooler he had carried in with him. First he removed two plates, then set a sandwich and a bunch of grapes on each one. Opening up a Tupperware container he shook out a portion of sliced cucumbers, then handed her the thermos of milk.

"So your autopsy gremlin always wanders the halls and lingers outside my lab?" she teased after she took a bite of her sandwich.

"No. Usually he wanders the halls in search of Agent Lee." He had amused Abby more then once with the strange courtship of medical assistant and probie agent. Both thought their secret was, well, secret, and didn't know that the whole building knew about them.

"I would tell you that I'm fine and you don't need to worry, but it won't do any good. You, Ducky, are a worrier." She pointed at him with her fork. "It's kind of cute."

"I'm glad you think so, because I'm sure it's a trait that's only going to get more obvious in the coming months. And speaking of worrying, there was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"What's up, D-man?" she asked. Done with her meal, she wiped her face with a napkin. She had been starving, her appetite in the last few weeks increased by the kid-to-be.

"I know you are glad to be out of bed and have some independence back," he began.

"You can say that again." It was only because of weekly visits from McGee and Ziva, twice weekly visits from Tony and most importantly nightly visits from Ducky that she made it through her forced confinement. One day longer and she would have been looking for something to hit herself over the head with just to relieve the boredom.

"And you are probably looking forward to returning to the familiar surroundings of your apartment, but I was hoping you wouldn't. I mean I was hoping you would stay at the house. Not in the living room if you didn't want to. The guest room would afford you more privacy and..."

"Ducky, I'd love to." She had been feeling a little unsure about being on her own, and she was also beginning to think about their evenings together and how she'd miss the companionship. "Besides, my apartment is in no way set up for a family. I'm going to have to start looking for a new place. If I'm going to stay with you a bit longer I should look into hiring movers and renting a storage space. That way I can take my time perusing the available housing."

"No need to waste money on storage, my dear Abby. There is plenty of space in my basement." He was relieved that she took his suggestion so easily. Though the doctor had declared the danger to be past he didn't like the idea of her being alone too much. And he would miss having her around.

"I'll still need movers," she said, thinking out loud.

"I can arrange for those too. I'm sure Tony, McGee and Jimmy would be willing to lend a hand."

"Don't forget Ziva, Duck. The girl's got serious muscles."

II

The car ride home was too quiet, Ducky mused to himself. For the past weeks he and Abby had been commuting to and from work together. Tonight was the first time he had needed to stay behind to work on a case, and though Abby had protested he had helped her into a cab promptly at four. It was a ridiculous waste of money, she had argued. Normal work hours or less had been the doctor's mandate, he had argued back, and he was going to make sure she followed the orders even if she did glare daggers at him.

It was another three hours before he was able to leave work after giving Jimmy strict instructions about tucking their latest guest in for the night. When he arrived home he didn't even stop to take off his coat, but headed up the stairs. First thing on his agenda was a hot shower to work out the kinks in his muscles after standing for so long. He threw his coat onto the bed, toed off his shoes and was starting to unbutton the sleeves of his shirt when he realized that he was not alone. There were noises coming from his walk in closet, which also happened to be the location of his safe. He grabbed a bronzed paperweight in the shape of a Mallard steam locomotive from the table nearest to him and moved silently over to the half opened door.

"Stop what you are doing or I'll..." He froze, right hand held over his head.

"Jeez, someone's a little over protective of their clothes." Abby stood in the middle of the cramped space.

"What do you think you're doing, trying to give me a heart attack? I can assure you I'm not quite ready to wind up on one of my tables yet." He lowered the weighted hand to his side.

"I'm just looking for something to wear," she explained, looking at him innocently.

"Well in case you didn't notice you're in the wrong closet. You should be able to tell that by the decided lack of black attire."

"Nothing of mine fits anymore, not even when I ignore the zippers and just use safety pins to fasten the skirts. Apparently babies and miniskirts do not mix." She tugged at the button**-**down shirt she had been fingering and held it up to her frame. "I thought I'd bogart one of your shirts until I can hit the mall tomorrow."

"Of course. Help yourself to whatever you deem appropriate." There was a pounding at the base of his skull and he reached up to rub at the spot.

"Headache?" she asked as she slipped the shirt on over the tank top she had been wearing.

"Just the beginnings of one." He stepped out of the closet and Abby followed.

"Let me take care of it. Sit down," she said, pointing to the closest chair.

"It's nothing to concern yourself with," he dismissed her order.

"Ducky, haven't you learned yet that things go much easier if you just do what I say from the outset?" She led him to the chair, gently pushing him into it then moving behind him. With a hand to either side of his neck she began to massage. "So how did the autopsy go? Find anything interesting?"

"Work is over for the day, Abigail. You are supposed to be relaxing." Not rubbing his shoulders, but he was selfish enough not to tell her to stop. Already the headache was leaving, and the warmth of her fingers was a comfort.

"You're talking to me, Ducky. Autopsy reports are practically the same thing as bedtime stories. Now spill."

II

"You want to come to the mall with me?" Abby asked the next morning at breakfast.

"Ah yes. Wandering around for hours in a confined space where music from different shops war with each other for vulgarity, and the teenage population is four times that of any other place in the city is just the type of place I want to spend my day off." Reaching for the teapot he poured himself another cuppa. "What time do we leave?"

As it turned out they spent less then an hour at the mall. Abby walked into the store bearing the name 'Motherhood' and walked out less then a minute later. There was not a piece of clothing in the place that wasn't pastel or frilly or covered in cutsie little prints. The other maternity store was just as bad. After a brief detour to Hot Topic, where she bought a dozen XXL t-shirts and Ducky bought another baby outfit, they left.

"Do they think that pregnancy hormones make every woman want to start dressing like a Stepford wife?" Abby groused as they walked though the parking lot.

"If you were a member of the Akah tribe in Laos you would continue to wear the same clothing you always did, only looser. At the bottom of your pants would be a knitted band that told of your status in the tribe." Ducky said as he unlocked her car door.

"Well maybe I should move to Laos." Discontent, Abby slid into the passenger seat and crossed her arms. "I'm not an Ann Taylor-wearing soccer mom kind of person."

"And you don't have to be. Besides, the child you are carrying has a blend of Sciuto and Gibbs genes. It's going to take someone more then an ordinary woman to raise him or her."

"That's kind of what Tony said when he..." Abby's eyes grew round and stopped talking mid sentence. She grabbed for Ducky's hand and pressed it to the gentle swelling of her belly. After a moment his eyes also widened. "It moved," Abby said in awe. "Did you feel it?"

"I did." Once upon a time he had considered children, but that idea had faded into the mist as the years had passed. Now, sitting in his car in a strange parking lot with his hand on Abby's stomach felt like a miracle.

A week later an assortment of boxes arrived at the house, bearing the name Hot Mama Ink and addressed to Abby. She squealed and ran to find Ducky, hugging him in thanks for the maternity clothing; all black and covered in tribal patterns or skulls and cross bones.

II

"You're my hero, McGee." Abby was waiting for him, bowl and spoon already set out on the evidence table, and eagerly accepted the pint of ice cream he handed her. Ben and Jerry's Half Baked, her favorite.

"No problem, Abby. Tony started to lecture me, but when I said it was for you he left me alone." McGee watched as she scooped the ice cream into the bowl. He hadn't noticed the other bottles on the table until she reached for one of them. "Uh, Abby, you aren't really going to..."

"To what, McGee?" she asked as she used her fingers to fish miniature pickles out of briny liquid and dropped them onto the ice cream.

"Do that." He wrinkled his nose at that now defamed snack.

"You should try it sometime. There's this whole sweet meets salty and soft meets crunchy sensation that's really great." She started to pick up her spoon, but paused. Running over to the cooler she reached inside and came back to the table carrying a yellow plastic container of mustard. "Perfect," she said once she had poured the condiment on top and taken a bite. "Want some?"

"No thanks." He leaned away from the offered spoon.

"How about you, Ducky?" she asked the man lingering in the doorway.

"No thank you, my dear. It doesn't look nearly as appealing as the peanut butter cheese and pepperoni sandwich you made yesterday." He was carrying an evidence bag, which he handed to her. Whenever possible he brought up the evidence now, instead of sending Jimmy as he used to. It gave him a couple extra chances to look in on Abby every day.

"It's a good thing that you are not Jewish. Pepperoni and cheese on the same sandwich in not at all kosher." Ziva entered the lab and joined the other three at the table. She glanced curiously at the dessert Abby was eating, but did not comment on it.

"That's too bad, Ziva. You'll never know the awesomeness of a pepperoni pizza. Meat and cheese is almost as good a combination as chocolate and peanut butter. Oh!" Abby's face lit up at a sudden thought. "Next time I could add chocolate to the sandwich."

"That kid is doing some weird things to your taste buds," McGee commented.

"That's hardly a compliment, McGee." Tony entered the room, not bothering with the pretense of bringing in evidence or reports. More and more often they had all fallen into the habit of winding up in Abby's lab towards the end of the day. It was a way for them all to de-stress and connect with each other under the guise of checking in on their pregnant co-worker.

"Please, Tony. You weren't nearly as polite the first time I asked you for brussel sprouts and caramel sauce," Abby teased. It was the first weird thing she had craved, one time when Tony had been visiting her during her bed rest.

"But that was a much stranger..." he glanced at the bite of ice cream she was about to take. "Okay, McGee is right. Is that mustard?"

"Yup. I ran out of catsup yesterday and forgot to bring a new bottle."

"When my mother was pregnant with Tali, she often ate latkes smothered in ketchup," Ziva offered softly. Everyone looked at her, as she had never mentioned her mother and only talked of her sister once, and Abby reached out and squeezed her hand, giving her an empathetic smile.

"Perhaps I should buy some latke makings the next time I am at the store," Ducky commented. "It's been years since I have had them. I had a friend once who made them so perfectly: crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. We would cover them with apple sauce and cinnamon."

"That sounds yummy. Any chance you'd want to came over and make some, Ziva? Ducky's got a huge kitchen, you'd like it."

"Maybe one day soon I will," Ziva said. A few minutes later everyone drifted from the room and Abby returned to her snack. If she was lucky she'd have enough time to run a couple of tests before Ducky came to get her.

II

Pacing the length of the living room, Ducky paused to look at the clock on the fireplace mantle for the third time. Any minute now and Abby should be returning. Tony had taken her out for an afternoon of lunch and a movie. Abby didn't know that Ducky had been the one to put him up to it; he needed her out of the house for a few hours. Now that she was about to return, though, he was getting nervous. He wasn't at all sure how she would take his surprise.

His mother watched him move about the room for a few minutes and then glowered at him. "It's you**r** own fault for letting her leave with a gigolo," she said before crossing the hall to her bedroom. "Next time I suggest you nail her shoes to the floor."

Ducky was still shaking his head at the odd idea when the front door opened.

"Three hours in the library?" he heard Abby say. "This woman must really be hot."

"She is, Abbs, but she's more than that. She's smart and funny and... special."

"Wow. Now I really want to meet her," Abby said as he entered the foyer.

"I second that motion, Anthony. When are you going to introduce us to this mystery woman?" Ducky asked, momentarily pushing aside his worry.

"And on that note I'm out of here." Tony turned with some haste and closed the front door firmly behind him.

"There were times I never believed I would see this day, Duck, but I think Tony might have actually found a woman who can keep him interested longer than a couple of weeks." She grinned at him, one hand resting lightly on her stomach.

"I do hope so." He observed her carefully for signs of fatigue or discomfort, but didn't find any. She was the picture of health, standing in front of him in black pants with oversized pins running down the sides and a sweatshirt that had been his until recently. Now was as good a time as any to show her the surprise on which he had spent most of the day working. "Would you mind coming upstairs with me for a moment?"

"Sure thing. What's up?" She climbed the stairs ahead of him, knowing that he believed, should she stumble, he could either assist her or at least provide a softer place to land.

"I know you haven't... that is to say... it would be my pleasure if..." He hadn't stammered this badly since he had asked a young woman to his first formal dance almost half a century ago. Grimly setting his jaw he walked to the door directly across the hall from Abby's room and turned the knob. Abby looked at him briefly, squinting her eyes in an effort to figure him out, but finally turned her attention to the room. She staggered slightly, and grabbed at the doorframe to steady herself.

"Oh holy bejesus," she gasped.

"I know this is horribly presumptuous on my part. We haven't discussed it at all and..." When he saw a tear fall down the length of her cheek he stopped, his shoulders sagging. "I'm sorry, my dear. I shouldn't have done such a thing without asking."

"No one in my entire life has done such an amazingly awesome thoughtful and insightful thing for me before. No one," she stressed. With the back of her hand she wiped away the tear before leaning into him and pressing a kiss to his lips. "You are so beyond cool I don't have the words. Now show me around the place, will ya?"

"It would be my pleasure." Grey clouds of worry cleared up in an instant as he walked behind her into the newly painted and furnished nursery.

II

"So what are your thoughts about Thanksgiving?" Ducky asked as he turned off the television after i _House_ /i ended. He had never seen the show until Abby had moved in, but had become completely addicted to it, though he did feel obliged to point out the medical inaccuracies.

"I think it's a completely bogus holiday that indirectly celebrates our destruction of the Native American culture." She grabbed a handful of popcorn out of the bowl that was between them on the couch.

"While that is an interesting view it's not at all what I was asking, as you are well aware. I was referring to the time of togetherness that the day has come to represent. I was thinking that we should go all out with the turkey, cranberries, yams, and pies." It had been quite a while since he had had an excuse to put on a good spread. He was looking forward to it.

"That's an awful lot of work just for the three of us. Four, if you count the peanut who does have quite an appetite, but still..."

"Oh it wouldn't be just us. I was thinking we would invite Tony and McGee. Jimmy will go to his mother's, but Ziva would probably be pleased if she were invited. And what about your lab assistant Mark?"

"He's not family." Abby quickly shook her head. It was bad enough that the man was always following her around the lab, worse that he was allowed to stay late at work when she had to leave on time. No way was she going to deal with him on her day off. "We could invite Michelle, though. And maybe Director Shepard? And Tony's girl, if he's brave enough to bring her."

"That sounds like a plan. Something tells me Miss Lee might have other plans for the day, however."

II

"You have a beautiful home, Ducky." Jen Shepard stood in the entryway wearing jeans and a dark blue sweater, and looking more relaxed then anyone besides Ducky had ever seen her. But then when you are sneaking across the English Channel there is no place for formality, he mused.

"Thank you, Director," he said respectfully as he accepted the bottle of wine she handed him. It never would have occurred to him to invite her, but Abby had been the one to catch the director during a lunch break and ask her, and whether the woman had been caught off guard or genuinely pleased, she had said yes.

"Jen, please. We're away from the office now, and I'm nothing more then a guest."

"Jen it is, then. Abigail is in the living room with McGee and Ziva. Tony has yet to arrive, but when he does our party will be complete." He escorted her to join the others. Abby was in the leather chair with her feet up on an ottoman, looking rather like an unusual princess as Ziva stood beside her and McGee crossed the room and presented her with a glass of milk.

"Director Shepard, glad you could make it," Abby greeted her. McGee was startled by the name and looked nervously over his shoulder while Ziva only nodded her head in acknowledgment.

"She's taking a holiday from the title today. It's just Jen while she's here, though I'm sure no one will slip up come Monday," Ducky announced. He popped the cork on the wine and filled four of the wine glasses that he had set out earlier, then passed them around. Abby stuck out her lower lip.

"Red wine! I can't say that I ever drank much of that, but it's the same exact color as my Caf-Pows and I'd kill for one of those right now."

"Sorry Abbs," McGee said, pushing his glass away so that it was out of her line of sight.

"It would be pretty sad to waste your forensic skills on something so pedestrian as covering up a Caf-Pow murder," Ducky said sympathetically.

"But think of the fun I'd have, Duck. And what a fun name: the Caf-Pow Killer. I can almost picture the newscasts." When she nodded her head she sent her pigtails bouncing.

"What, less then a day away from work and we've gone from fighting crime to planning it?" Tony, having let himself in, stood in the doorway.

"What can I say? I have to put my wealth of knowledge to work somehow," Abby said, sticking out her tongue.

"I told you he would not bring a date," Ziva commented. "He is a scared chicken."

"Just chicken, Ziva. Or maybe you mean scaredy cat," Tony corrected. "Neither of which pertains to me." When he stepped into the room he held out his hand, linking fingers with a brunette woman. She was beautiful, though in a softer way than Tony's typical starlet type, and though her movements were a little hesitant there was a smile on her face and a shine in her eyes.

"Pay up," Abby ordered, looking from Ziva to McGee, then turning to wink at Ducky.

"You bet on me?" Tony tried to sound shocked but ended up laughing.

"Yeah, and aren't you glad I won? Ziva bet you would come stag, and Timmy didn't think you'd show at all. I had faith, though."

"See what I have to put up with every day? And you wondered why I waited so long before introducing you." Tony squeezed his date's hand.

"Your innocent boy act hasn't working on me since the first day we met, Tony. It won't work today either." The stranger laughed and kissed Tony on his cheek before turning to face Ducky. "I'm Jeanne," she said, offering her hand.

"Jeanne, my dear, it is a pleasure to meet you. We are so glad you were able to come. I'm Ducky."

"Ducky, I've been looking forward to meeting you for ages. I'm starting my rotation in the psychiatric ward after the first of the year and would love the chance to talk to you sometime."

"Anytime. You must come over for tea one day and I'll share some stories with you." He liked Jeanne already, and judging the way Tony followed her with his eyes, his young friend did too.

"Just not the story about the feathers, bourbon and the missing corpse, please Duck. I don't want her permanently scarred," Tony joked.

"He can tell me any story he wants. Now go be useful and get the stuff out of the car," Jeanne shot over her shoulder.

"McGee, help me up," Abby poked the agent in his side when Ducky and Jeanne approached. Though she was more than capable of getting out of the chair herself, it was so much easier with help, and McGee was a more than willing assistant. "You talk to Tony like that all the time?" Abby asked, her arms crossed.

"Every day whether he deserves it or not," was the pert reply.

"I thought that I was going to like you." Abby gave the woman a quick hug, and was pleased to find the gesture returned. "Now I know that we are going to be friends."

"Hey Ducky where's your mom?" McGee asked, suddenly realizing that someone was missing.

"In her room, where I believe she'll be for the rest of the day," Ducky answered. "She muttered something about America invading her home and trying to corrupt her, and swears she's not going to come out until you're all gone. I'll take her a plate of food later."

"Just don't take her the wine," Abby suggested. "We don't want a repeat of last time."

"Last time?" Ziva asked.

"Really, you don't want to know." Abby turned her head to the woman standing quietly in the corner. "Jen, since you're not being director today does that mean we can talk you into telling us your side of the 'escaping from France' story?"

II

"You're going to e-mail me that article, right?" Abby asked as she stood on the front porch with her newest friend.

"Only if you promise to send me that CD via Tony," Jeanne replied."It's a deal." They stood together admiring the vivid colors of the trees and waited for Tony to appear. He did a moment later, laden down with a pile of leftover food. Their Thanksgiving dinner had yielded more then enough to feed everyone for the day, and then some.

"I'd give you a hug but I'm afraid I'd wind up with pie in my face," Abby told Tony with laughter in her voice. "I'll give two to Jeanne instead. I'm sure she'll make sure you get one of them later."

"She'd better." He loaded the food into the back seat of the car as the women hugged, then climbed into the drivers seat. Abby waited until the passenger door was closed and Tony had started the engine before sticking her head through the window.

"Don't forget to tell Jeanne about the time you slept with an iguana," she said.

"Abby!" Tony protested.

"What? It's a funny story, and won't wound your male ego as badly as telling her about that case where you made out with the transvestite." While Tony was still in shock she ran back to the house, waving from the porch as they sped away.

"What did you say to elicit that kind of reaction?" Ducky asked curiously from the doorway.

"Oh, you know. Just sisterly teasing." Abby wrapped her arms around he and rested her head on his shoulder. "Is it nap time yet? I'm exhausted."

"I'm not at all surprised. Come on, I'll walk you upstairs." He was feeling rather tired himself, a combination of too much food, wine, and tryptophan. It was probably a good idea for the both of them to turn in early.

"Will you tell me a bedtime story?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Did you have something particular in mind?"

"Yeah. I want to hear the one about the feathers, bourbon and the missing corpse."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: More than one of you has asked for the story of "the feathers, bourbon and the missing corpse." Sadly, such a story does not exist. The prompt is open to anyone who wants to attempt it. Thanks for the reviews!

Part 4

When the door creaked, he woke up immediately. He had never been one to sleep deeply, but ever since he had started living with his mother he had slept even lighter, keeping an ear out for her nocturnal wanderings. Now that Abby was here his subconscious awareness was only amplified, until he sometimes wondered if he fell asleep at all some nights.

"Abby?" he whispered softly, not wanting to frighten her, or draw his mother's attention if she were the one standing in the hall. The door swung open, and though the light was dim he could make out the familiar form. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, Ducky sat up and turned the lamp next to his bed onto the dimmest setting. It was definitely Abby, standing in the doorway wearing an oversized t-shirt and flannel pants. She was biting her lower lip.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, worried, folding back the blankets. Abby shook her head violently, stopped, then slowly nodded.

"Bad dream," she whispered, both of her hands moving to cover her stomach.

"Come here." Ducky patted the side of the bed, and Abby slowly shuffled into the room, easing herself onto the farthest edge of the mattress. He reached out a hand and rested it on her knee. "Tell me about it."

Abby shook her head.

"It will make you feel better. The boogieman isn't nearly so scary if you say his name out loud."

"The last time I told anyone about a nightmare it was Kate." She looked into the corner of the room, her eyes out of focus as if she was seeing something that wasn't there. "I told her about Tony having blood on his face, and a couple of hours later..."

"That was just one dream, Abby. One in a thousand." He pulled at her until she was in the middle of the bed, and cradled her to him. He moved slowly, rocking back and forth with miniscule movements.

"There was a baby crying." Her voice was raspy as she spoke of a lost baby, a frantic search, and a doorway that opened into Mexico. When she was done Ducky took her hand in his and moved it until both palms were flat against her stomach.

"Do you feel that?" he asked when the baby kicked at them from the other side of the skin. Abby nodded. "Your baby isn't lost. You're not lost. Both of you are safe and right where you are meant to be. Alright?"

"Yeah." Abby kept her hand where it was for another moment, a look of resolve on her face. "Okay, I'm done with the wigging out now. I'm going to blame this on too much turkey." She yawned and leaned back, pulling one of his pillows under her head. "Thanks Ducky," she murmured.

"You're welcome," he replied, though she had already fallen asleep. Freeing the covers from under her legs, he pulled them up and covered both of them. Within minutes he too was asleep.

II

The days between Thanksgiving and Christmas flew by. It seemed like there was suddenly so much to do, with the holiday season and preparing for the baby. After the new year Abby would only have a few weeks before her maternity leave started, so in addition to everything else she had to make sure Mark knew how to carry out the job alone. There were also a few trials in which she had to give testimony.

A week before Christmas, she flew down to Louisiana for a long weekend. She had yet to tell her parents about the soon-to-be grandchild, and wanted to do so in person. Ducky had asked to come with her, but she had said no. This was one thing that she had to face on her own, she had declared.

She was quiet when he picked her up from the airport.

"Long flight?" he asked, surreptitiously slipping his arm around her waist, supporting her as much as possible.

"Long couple of days," she commented, not protesting when he took her carry-on from her grasp. "I love my parents, but somehow after an hour with them I go from being an educated woman who has been taking care of herself for years to a recalcitrant teen feeling guilty for sneaking out of the house at night."

"So they didn't take the news well?" When they reached the baggage carousel he maneuvered them over to a bench where they could sit while they waited.

"They took the news great, after the initial shock. They were ecstatic about impending grandparenthood, hands flying a mile a minute as they both asked more questions then I could keep up with even if I had been able to down a Caf-Pow." She smiled at the memory, but then the expression dimmed. "It was the whole dad thing they didn't get. Gloria's not only a southerner, but also a devout Lutheran. She's never really understood my lifestyle, but now she's completely baffled. Mothers-to-be should have rings on their fingers, in her opinion."

"Did you tell them about Gibbs?" he asked. It was a subject that plagued him, and so he rarely brought it up. He understood why Gibbs had left, but not why he had stayed away for so long or cut all his ties. He also understood Abby's reluctance to contact the man but didn't truly agree. It was a frustration, but one he was careful to keep to himself.

"And have my dad and brother hop on the next plane to Mexico? I don't think so. I told them that I was okay, and that the peanut and I had some good friends looking out for us. That relieved Gloria's mind a bit. I think she's decided that the father is some guy I met in a club, and that I'm better off without him. It makes my decisions easier for her to accept." Ducky burst into laughter, and Abby looked at him questioningly.

"Sorry, my dear. I just got this picture in my head of Jethro in one of your clubs."

"Kind of the definition of standing out like a sore thumb, eh Duck?"

"Very much so. The only thing I can think of that would be stranger would be myself in similar surroundings." His eyes watered at the thought, and he took a deep breath to try and calm the laughter.

"I think I have to disagree with you there. Given the right outfit you could probably blend in," she mused.

"Whether or not that's true will forever remain a mystery. Especially after that experience I had the last time I was in Germany."

II

They went to church together on Christmas Eve, finding a place of worship near the house that neither of them had been to before. The sanctuary was filled with candlelight and smelled sweetly of incense. When the carols were sung they shared a single hymnal, raising their voices without a hint of shyness. During the brief service Abby's gaze rarely left the empty crèche, and her hand never left Ducky's grasp.

She woke him up the next morning only shortly after the sun had breached the horizon.

"Nightmare?" he asked sleepily, though she hadn't had one since Thanksgiving.

"No, Ducky. It's Christmas." She pulled at the blankets until they fell into a mangled heap at the base of the bed, and when he continued to lie there she pulled on his hands. "Christmas? You know presents, tree, stockings?"

"Aren't we both a little old to be sneaking down the stairs to see if Santa paid us a visit?" Resignedly Ducky reached for his robe, knowing that nothing he could say would deter Abby.

"We're practicing," Abby said as if the simple phrase explained everything.

"Practicing?" he repeated.

"For next year." She pointed to her stomach. "I haven't decided if I'm going to let the peanut believe in the myth of the jolly fat man, but I sure am going to celebrate the season, and that includes the whole ritual of waking up way too early in the morning."

"Well when you put it that way, let's go. Shall we tiptoe down the stairs?"

II

"You really were horribly extravagant, my dear." Ducky looked at the unwrapped presents piled next to him, chief among them a first edition Sherlock Holmes novel.

"Because you weren't?" she said, looking around her at the presents both for herself and the baby not even born yet. "Besides, you won't let me pay you rent, barely let me pay for the occasional gas or groceries, and have spent the last five months putting up with my crazy moods. I just wanted you to know what that meant to me."

"Having you here has been all the gift I could ask for, my dear. Just having you around has made me feel younger then I have in quite a while," he admitted.

"You're not old, Ducky. Anyone who says you are needs their eyes checked," Abby argued.

"You're very sweet, Abigail, but I'm old enough to..."

"Be my grandfather?" Abby filled in wickedly.

"Oh good lord no. I'm not that old. Your child's grandfather, perhaps."

"The peanut's grandfather is back in Louisiana," Abby said matter-of-factly. "You are much more like the dad then anything else." With that she stood and left the room in the direction of the kitchen, leaving a stunned Ducky still sitting on the floor in the midst of gifts and strewn papers. Like a father? Him?

II

With the exception of one case they were able to take off the whole week between Christmas and New Year's. The start of 2007 found them both asleep, Ducky in his favorite chair with a book in his lap, Abby in her bed with Bert the stuffed hippo in one arm and an almost identical but smaller hippo in her other arm. It had been a present from Ducky, though he had written 'from Peanut' on the card. She had named it Ernie.

Both Bert and Ernie came to the office every day for the next week. When Tony teased her about the new guest she told him that the baby hippo needed to become accustomed to the lab before spending her maternity leave at home. He grinned, waiting until he was safely in the elevator and out of her hearing before letting out a laugh.

"Something funny, DiNozzo?" a voice asked when he stepped off the elevator and headed to his desk.

"No, boss," he said without looking up from the report Abby had handed him. He took two steps before freezing and pivoting on a heel. "Boss?"

"Not your boss anymore, Tony." Gibbs stood before him, looking like a Twilight Zone version of the Gibbs Tony knew. The hair was still the silvery grey he knew even if it was longer. The smirk was the same, but the clothing was decidedly different

"You look... relaxed," Tony said. "You here for a visit or something a little more permanent?" Emotions warred in him, though he was well schooled enough not to let them play across his face. He still missed Gibbs every day and would be glad to have him around, but the team that had once been Gibbs' was his now, and he wasn't sure he could give that up.

"Just visiting," Gibbs said. "That okay with you?"

"Of course bo... Gibbs."

"Good. I'll talk to you later; right now I'm going down to see Abby and Ducky." Still caught off guard, Tony moved slower then usual, and didn't catch the elevator until the doors slid shut. Rather than wait for another car he headed for the stair.

"Man, Gibbs, are you going to be in for a surprise. There have been a few changes since you've been gone," he muttered to himself as he jogged down the steps. When he entered autopsy he wasn't sure if he should be relieved to find Ducky alone or worried that Gibbs had gone to the lab first.

"I should caution you that I'm about to start the autopsy, Tony. You know you don't like to be around when I have the rib spreader out." Ducky warned as he reached for a glove.

"First of all thanks for the warning because that sound? Ick. But you're going to want to postpone the cutting for a bit, Ducky. We have company.

"Company?" Ducky asked. "Who do you think is important enough to interrupt my conversation with Private Wilson?"

"Gibbs?" Tony said with only the slightest touch of questioning in his voice.

"Jethro is here?" He'd known his friend couldn't stay away forever, but Gibbs also couldn't have picked a worse time. "Where is he?"

"As of about a minute ago, Abby's lab."

"Oh dear." Without waiting for Tony he headed for the elevator. Tony caught up with him in time, though, and rode up the single floor with the ME.

"You know, if I didn't have such a healthy ego I'd feel hurt by this leaving-me-behind trend," Tony commented idly as they waited for the doors to open.

II

She was sitting at her desk typing a report when the telltale swoosh of the door alerted her that she was not alone. Knowing what time it was she didn't even look up from the keyboard.

"Just five more minutes, Duck, and I'll be ready for lunch. You know how I hate to stop in the middle of these things."

"Don't rush on my account. I can wait." The voice was not the cultured British one she had expected, though it was achingly familiar. Abby's eyes widened and her head snapped up.

"Gibbs?" she breathed. She had a hard time believing her own eyes, and was glad that she was already sitting, because her legs felt weak.

"Hey Abbs," he replied with a smile more affable then she had ever seen.

"Mexico agrees with you." She took in the smile, the tan, the relaxed posture and the faded tropical print shirt. "You look good."

"You look different." You look good too was what he had meant to say, but the word different had slipped out and he realized that it was true. There was something about her that he couldn't put his finger on, and it wasn't just the fact that the shirt she was wearing was blue and less form-fitting than the clothes he had been used to seeing her wear.

"Now that's hardly a compliment, Jethro. Good to see that some things never change." Ducky strode into the lab, followed by Tony. He glanced at Abby and she gave the barest shake of her head. Ducky understood it to mean that her seated posture hadn't given away her surprise and that Gibbs didn't yet know about the baby.

"Nice to see you too, Duck." Gibbs gave his friend a quick hug in greeting.

"It's always good to see you, Gibbs. Would have been nice to hear from you at some point over the last eight months too," Ducky added pointedly. Gibbs didn't reply, but met his friend's gaze without cowardice. "Why don't you come down to autopsy with me and I'll fill you in on some of the major events since you've been away."

"In a minute, Duck."

"Or you could come back up to the bullpen. Ziva and McGee should be back from lunch by now and I know they'll both want to see you," Tony offered.

"Is there a reason the two of you are so anxious to get me out of the lab?" For the first time Gibbs' tone was the one with which they were most familiar.

"Of course not."

"I don't know what you mean."

"It's okay guys," Abby finally spoke. She looked to Tony and Ducky and gave them a half smile. "They're just doing what they think I want them to, Gibbs."

"Why would they be under the impression that you don't want to see me, Abbs?" he asked softly. She flashed back to a little over eight months ago when he asked why she hadn't told him about Mikel. He never had understood her need to keep things secret. She was afraid that he really wasn't going to understand this time. She glanced at Ducky and he moved around the side of the desk until he was standing behind her, a hand on her shoulder.

"Because you were right when you said I looked different, and you've only seen me from the waist up." He looked perplexed until she flattened a hand to the desk to steady herself as she stood up.

"Damn," he swore softly. "You're pregnant."

"Guessed it in one," she said, both hands now resting on the swollen belly.

"And this is why Tony and Ducky were trying to get me out of here," Gibbs stated.

"They were giving me an out, in case I wanted to make for the back door. We both know that's not my way, though." She had never been one to run from her problems, though she did occasionally hide from them in elevators and under desks.

"I never thought I would... when are you due?" He stopped mid-sentence, rethought his statement.

"In about three weeks. The first of February, give or take a couple of days if my doc's guessed it right," Abby answered. She watched Gibbs' face carefully and could tell the moment the information clicked. Gibbs stumbled the slightest bit and caught himself with a hand on the computer monitor.

"The first of February? But that means that nine months ago was..." Abby nodded. Tony looked from Gibbs to Abby in confusion, knowing that something had just happened in between the questions but not understanding what.

"What's the significance of nine months ago, besides the obvious?" Tony asked when it looked like no one was going to speak. Ducky pressed his lips together in an action that Tony took to mean that he knew the answer but wasn't going to share. He did, however, squeeze Abby's arm and encourage her to return to her former seated position.

"That was about the time we were working the Mawher case." Gibbs was the first to speak, his eyes never leaving Abby.

"Like I could ever forget that. But Abby broke up with him long before the... I mean Mikel isn't the..."

"Hell no," Gibbs exclaimed. He didn't like knowing the man had ever been near Abby, let alone gotten that close. "I'm the father."

"Ha, ha that's very..." Tony looked at Gibbs, then Ducky, then Abby who would barely meet his gaze. "Gibbs? When I asked about... and threatened to... that was Gibbs I was talking about?" Abby nodded.

"Threatened to what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs barked, finally turning his attention from Abby.

"Nothing nearly as colorful as what you would have said in the same situation, Jethro," Ducky answered for him.

"Good," Gibbs said shortly. He was relieved to know that Abby had such fierce protectors, even if they were protecting her from him. The three people it had been hardest to leave behind were in this room, and it was obvious that they had survived well without him. Maybe a little too well, he thought, his eyes drawn to Abby's belly. There was a kid in there. His kid. "Now why don't the two of you leave us alone? Abby and I need to talk."

"I'm not leaving Abigail alone, not even with you," Ducky said firmly.

"I, on the other hand, will be going back upstairs." Tony's head was still spinning from the revelation that Gibbs was the baby's dad, meaning Gibbs and Abby had slept together at least once if not more then that. He was in the middle of the outer lab when Abby let out a low moan that had him turning around.

"Abigail are you alright?" Ducky was asking when Tony re-entered the inner lab. Abby looked up at him and shook her head.

"I think I'm having a contraction," she said, the calmness of her voice at war with the expression on her face.

"What?" Tony asked in shock. "But doesn't that mean..."

"Means the baby could be coming, DiNozzo," Gibbs answered. "I'll go pull my car up to the front, Ducky."

"Thank you," Ducky said, slightly annoyed at his friend's presumptuousness but at the same time grateful because it meant he could focus on Abby.

"It's too early, Duck. This isn't supposed to be happening for weeks yet. What if the lungs aren't fully developed or the kidneys aren't ready to function or something goes wrong?" Abby tapped her fingers together nervously, the nails making a frantic taptaptap. "It could be just Braxton Hicks, right?" she asked, not expecting an answer.

"It's only a few weeks, Abby. With modern technology babies born as early as twenty weeks are able to survive, and you're almost at thirty-seven. Everything's going to be fine," Ducky reassured as he helped her to stand. They took a few awkward steps together before Ducky looked at Tony. "If you would go get the elevator for us, please Anthony."

"Right away," he said, glad to have something to do. He jogged through the lab to the hallway and pushed the up button rapidly and continually until it opened. When it did he stood inside, holding down the open door button. It took Abby and Ducky much longer to make their way to the waiting elevator.

"I'm not ready. This isn't happening." Leaning against the padded wall Abby closed her eyes and repeated the words like a mantra.

"Abby," Ducky said. When she didn't reply he repeated her name louder and in a tone that she must have recognized. She stopped her muttering and focused on him. "It doesn't matter if you are ready or not because this is happening. Now you're going to concentrate on your breathing and on the baby. Everything else can wait until later. Everything," he repeated. The last thing she needed to be worrying about right now was Gibbs' return and what it meant.

"Breathing and the baby." Abby reached for Ducky's hand. "Breathing and the baby. Sounds like an old sixties song, doesn't it? No time for guns, no time for war, 'cause I'm taking time to breathe, just baby and me," she sung, stealing the melody from a Cat Stevens song and making up the words as she went.

"Nice singing voice you've got there, Abbs," Tony commented as the elevator doors opened into the lobby.

"I could have been a rock star," Abby remarked wryly when she finished singing. They made their way across the lobby, drawing the attention of the receptionist and security guards, one of whom had the front door open for them by the time they got to it. Like competitors in a three-leg race they continued their strange walk until they reached Gibbs' waiting car.

"We've got her from here, Tony," Ducky said as he helped Abby into the back seat. "Thank you."

"But I thought..."

"There's still work to be done, and the last place you need to be is pacing a waiting room. I'll call when there is news to report." Tony nodded, and Ducky shut the door behind Abby and walked around the other side to join her in the back. Giving Gibbs only the slightest nod, he turned his attention back to Abby as the car pulled out of the driveway.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: The Ducky/Gibbs tension that I wrote this originally to explore is finally here. Tomorrow is the last part. Hugs to all of you for the awesome comments, and props to the person who guessed what one of the baby's names was.

II

"Why didn't you tell me, Duck?" Gibbs asked. He was seated in one of the chairs of the waiting room. Ducky was too restless to sit, and wandered around the space with no rhyme or reason.

"It wasn't my place to, Jethro." He stopped to read one of the notices that was taped to the wall before moving on.

"Since when do you care what 'your place' should be?Friends don't keep things like this a secret."

"Friends?" Ducky turned quickly so that he was facing the other man, his jaw set and fire in his eyes. "Don't you dare lecture me on what friends do to each other. You don't walk away from friends without so much as a goodbye. A true friend doesn't disappear for more then seven months without a word. If you wanted to know what was going on in our lives then you could have picked up a damn phone. Or don't they have those in Mexico?"

Gibbs stared back at him. He'd rarely seen Ducky lose his temper, and never had he felt it directly aimed at him. "Abby knew how to get a hold of me," he said calmly.

"Ah yes. A phone number and the words 'for emergencies' scrawled on a post-it note. I can't understand why she didn't call," Ducky said sarcastically. Gibbs walked across the room and stuck his hand into his pocket, pulling out a handful of change and feeding the quarters into a vending machine.

"She's having a baby. My baby. I should have known," he said as he turned around, cup of coffee in hand.

"The phone works both ways," Ducky said. They both fell into silence, Gibbs drinking what passed for coffee in a hospital and Ducky continuing to move around the room, finally coming to rest in a chair across from Gibbs.

"She didn't want to be an obligation," Ducky said long after the coffee was gone and the tension slightly dissipated.

"What kind of crackpot logic is that, Duck? She's Abby, she knows what she means to me."

"Does she really?" Ducky asked softly, his blue eyes narrowing slightly.

"It was kind of obvious. Hell, half the building liked to gossip about the way I treated her so differently than everyone else; the gifts, the kisses, the slack that I never cut anyone else. I took her out for her birthday every year." To be honest he treated her better then he had any of his ex-wives.

"Did you ever tell her how you felt?" He already knew the answer but he asked anyway.

"Not really my way. You know that." Actions speak louder then words. Gibbs rule number 37.

"Yes, I do. But I'm also a friend who's known you for many years, not a woman you slept with once under the influence of alcohol and fear and then left a few weeks later without letting her say a word." He remembered not only that moment when Gibbs had pressed a finger to Abby's lips to silence her, but also finding her later, after the tears had fallen.

"I was kind of suffering the after effects of two explosions; first my own and then the one that I had to watch on the screen at MTAC." It still haunted him, that second explosion: the one he could have stopped if only they had listened to him.

"I understand that, why you needed to get away from it all for a time. Your resignation wasn't even a complete shock, though how you thought lying on a beach was going to make our Navy lads safer I don't know. But you walked out on us. You weren't here to answer the questions about the family you had kept secret, or to guide Tony through his first weeks as a team leader, and you certainly weren't here when Abby had to be rushed..." He stopped suddenly, realizing that in his anger and frustration he had brought up a wealth of subjects that he had never intended. He pressed a hand to his face as if blocking out words that had already escaped.

"Rushed where?" Ignoring everything else, Gibbs focused on the last thing Ducky had said. Ducky leaned his head forward and closed his eyes. He hated to remember that day, the fear and helplessness.

"She almost lost the baby," he answered after a long pause, his eyes still closed. "And for a few of the most frightening moments of my life I was afraid we were going to lose her too."

"Hell." At a crashing noise Ducky looked up to see Gibbs standing and metal chair flying across the room. The admitting nurse started towards them but Ducky mouthed an apology and returned the chair to its original place.

"If you're not careful you're going to get us kicked out of here," Ducky cautioned.

"Would you have contacted me then? If Abby had..." Gibbs' foot swung towards the chair again but he stopped himself in time.

"Who are you really angry at?" Ducky couldn't keep himself from asking.

"Everything always get so completely screwed up," Gibbs commented through clenched teeth. He had run away because he couldn't handle another death that he could have stopped, and because of that Abby had been in danger. Gibbs sank into the chair behind him. "Tell me about it?"

In a succinct fashion Ducky told him of the night in the hospital, the weeks of bed rest. He shared stories he knew Abby wouldn't mind being known but kept his most personal experiences to himself. He wasn't ready to share that moment when he had first felt the baby kick, or the joy of Christmas morning, with anyone other then Abby.

"Thank you for taking care of her, Duck," Gibbs said when the story had been told.

"As much as I love you, my friend, nothing that I have done for Abby has beenanything to do with you. Everything is about Abby and the baby." Gibbs studied him carefully, and Ducky met his gaze without blinking.

"You're in love with her." Gibbs wasn't sure how he felt about the discovery, but he could see the confirmation in the ME's eyes.

"So are you," Ducky replied simply. "With Abigail it's difficult to feel anything other than love."

"Yeah," Gibbs agreed.

II

Ducky had resumed his pacing and Gibbs was on his third cup of coffee when a nurse came to find them.

"Doctor Mallard?" she said in a polite voice, looking from one man to the other.

"I'm Doctor Mallard," Ducky answered. Gibbs rose from his chair and joined Ducky.

"We tried to slow the labor but Miss Scutio isn't responding to the drugs. She's dilated to six centimeters and we're moving her to a delivery room."

"I assume you've performed an ultrasound?" Ducky asked.

"Yes. Everything looks fine. The baby's organs all appear to be developed. Doctor Montgomery doesn't foresee any problems."

"No one ever does," Gibbs muttered.

"She's asking for you. Would you like to come back to the delivery room with me?" the nurse asked.

"Me?" both men said at the same time.

"Just Doctor Mallard." The nurse shook her head. "He's the only person she asked for."

"Jethro, I'm sure..."

"Don't worry about it, Duck." Gibbs shrugged, his expression blank. Anyone who didn't know him would think he didn't care about being excluded. Ducky knew better, but couldn't do anything about it. "You go ahead. Besides, someone needs to call the team and let them know what's going on."

Ducky nodded slowly and followed the nurse through a pair of swinging doors.

II

"You don't need to explain breathing techniques to me," Abby was telling a nurse when Ducky entered the delivery room. "By now I could write my thesis on the subject. Maybe I will if I ever decide to get another Master's degree; it would probably get read more than the one I did on spontaneous human combustion."

"I don't know, my dear. Some of those conspiracy theory magazines have quite a wide circulation, and it's more then possible that one of them used your thesis as the basis for an article." Ducky approached the hospital bed and grasped a hand now devoid of its usual jewelry.

"You think?" Abby grinned at the idea. "That would be so cool."

"I think it is a..." Suddenly his hand was being squeezed with incredible force and he lost track of what he had been about to say. Abby's face was tense and her lips were almost white as she pressed them together. "It's okay to make noise," he said gently as he rested his hand against her cheek. "No one will think less of you if you cry."

She didn't answer, but she did take in a deep breath of air through relaxed lips. Her hold on his had, though, remained just as tight. When the contraction passed her muscles went limp and her eyes closed half way.

"You know that book you have at home, about the women who have their babies out in the field and then continue working? Despite the claim they make about research it's so totally a work of fiction. No way could anyone do manual labor after this." Ducky isn't sure what book exactly she was referencing, but didn't dispute her claim.

"I promise you that no one will be expecting anything from you after the delivery, Abby. You and your child will be able to take a long nap together." He talked to her in a soothing voice about nothing in particular. When each of the contractions came he listened to her breathing and didn't complain of the hand that could very well be black and blue tomorrow. When they ended he wiped down her face with a damp rag and slipped ice chips between her lips. "I have to confess, my dear, that I have been waiting eagerly for this day to come. I can't wait to meet your little one."

"If you're so eager how about you take over giving birth. As much as I complained about the thousand daily bathroom visits, peanut resting on the bladder was so much more comfortable then this." Nine hours into labor and Abby was exhausted.

"If there was any way I could spare you from this you know I would in a heartbeat." Though they were commonly expressed words he meant them.

"I'm so glad you're here, Ducky. I was afraid I might have to do this alone."

"Never," he swore. "You don't have to do anything alone unless you want to."

"Be careful of the promises you make. The drugs they are giving me aren't nearly strong enough to make me forget this in the morning." She screamed as another contraction hit and didn't see the expression on Ducky's face or hear his repeated promise. He would be there for her as long as she wanted him.

II

"Alright, Ms. Sch... Abby," The doctor thought better then to address her by anything other then her nickname after the last time. His neck was still sore from where his collar had rubbed when she had yanked on his shirt. "During the next contraction I want you to start pushing."

"It's about time. I've run DNA tests that haven't taken this long." A slight exaggeration, but not by much.

Ducky could tell when the next contraction was about to start even without looking at the machine that was hooked up to Abby. There was an almost imperceptible change in her breathing and a surge of energy that coursed through her muscles. His felt the effects of adrenaline in his own body as he realized how close they were. Breathing, pushing, coaxing, and hand squeezing. Abby cried out and her voice was joined by another as the doctor held up the wailing infant.

"It's a girl."

"A girl?" Abby said in wonder, learning the sex of her baby for the first time. She had carefully avoided any knowledge about the gender, insisting that it was one of the few things in life that was such a happy surprise. "A girl!"

"A perfect little girl, with ten fingers and toes, and everything else she should have," the doctor confirmed.

"Including a strong set of lungs." Ducky smiled at Abby, and remembered her earlier concern about lungs not being developed. From the way the baby was crying that wasn't an issue.

"Would you like to cut the umbilical cord, Doctor Mallard?" one of the nurses offered.

"Would I what?" Ducky looked from the medical instrument the nurse was offering him, to his own hands, and finally at Abby.

"Go ahead, Ducky," she consented easily.

"Are you sure, Abigail? It's rather a symbolic gesture, one that traditionally..."

"You're the one here with me, Ducky, and you are the one who deserves this moment. Of course if you don't want to..."

"I would be honored, my dear." The pads of his fingers rested against the thin skin of the umbilical cord, and his first thought was how warm it was. Warm and flowing with life; he could almost feel the blood traveling through the veins. The scissors were placed in his right hand as the doctor gave him simple instructions not really necessary. This moment was so different from the medical procedures he performed daily, and he felt moisture well in the corner of his eye as he made the single cut to separate daughter from mother.

"Mine," Abby declared as the infant was laid on her chest. Busy fingers moved over the new skin, counting fingers, stoking hair, rubbing ears. When the new life nuzzled against her, already seeking a first meal, Abby helped her find the nipple. "Welcome to the world, little one. This is going to be an adventure."

Ducky moved back to the head of the table while the nurse delivered the afterbirth. He stood facing the new family and made his own count of fingers and toes.

"Everything as it should be, Ducky?"

"Perfect," was his reverent reply.

II

"Have you thought about a name?" Ducky asked once the baby was cleaned up and examined and the pair moved to a regular room. The baby's name was something they had never really discussed. He had brought up the subject once, shortly after she had moved into his home. Abby had shrugged and said she wasn't ready to think of names yet. He hadn't pressed her, but the next day he had slipped a book of baby names onto the table next to her bed, and although she never mentioned it he had seen the book open more then once. The only thing she had ever called the baby, however, was peanut and he was half afraid that she had grown too attached to the name to give it up. With Abby nothing was outside the realm of possibility.

"Of course I have, Ducky. I've had the names picked out for months. One for a boy, which obviously I'm not going to need, and one for a girl."

"And how long do you plan to keep everyone in suspense?" He walked back and forth in front of her hospital bed, the still nameless girl in the crook of his arm.

"Everyone's going to have to wait until they are here, because I want to tell them in person. You don't have to wait at all." Abby held out her hands and Ducky retuned the tiny infant to her. The new mother looked up at him, raising her baby up as high as she could from her lying down position. "Ducky, I'd like you to meet Mallory Caitlin Sciuto."

"Mallory?" he said in awe as he traced a tiny cheek with the tip of his finger.

"I figured it was kind of a twisted version of Mallard. If she had been a boy she would have been Jason Donald, but I figured the other kids would tease a girl named Donald."

"I don't have the first idea what to say, Abby. This is the most amazing thing that I have ever experienced in my life, and you are the very dearest of all women." He leaned over and kissed Abby on the forehead, then repeated the gesture with the newly named child. "I believe Kate would be just as pleased at the remembrance."

"I hope so, Ducky. If she lives up to either of her name sakes I'll consider my job well done." A miniature hand was wrapped around her finer, and she drew if to her lips and covered it with whispered kisses. "I didn't know it was possible to feel like this."

"Neither did I," He laughed suddenly as a random thought occurred to him, and decided that it would amuse Abby. "You know, Mother is going to think that you named your child in honor of her."

"She is, isn't she?" The vibrations of Abby's laugh caused Mallory to open her eyes. They were a startling blue, and reminded Ducky of the baby's father. Would they stay that color, he wondered? Between Abby's green eyes and Gibbs' blue ones it was a distinct possibility. "We know the truth, though."

"Would you like me to call anyone for you, my dear? Your friends will be anxious to hear about the baby, as will your parents." He had promised to call a worried Tony as soon as the baby was born.

"It's late, and I don't need to wake up my parents. I'll arrange for a TTY in the morning. It'd be awesome if you would call the team for me."

"And Gibbs?" he asked gently.

"Gibbs too. I have his number stored in my cell phone. It's the one that just says G." She had programmed it shortly after he had left, knowing that at some point she would need to call him.

"I don't believe that will be necessary. Last time I checked he was still in the waiting room."

"Seriously? He waited the whole... Never mind, that doesn't surprise me." She paused, twisting her mouth as she made a decision. "Could you find him and ask him to come here?"

"I can. I'll go outside to make the calls to Tony and the others, and give the two - no the three - of you some time alone."

"Thank you, Ducky." She squeezed his hand before he left, then took a deep breath. "Well kid, it's time to introduce you to Gibbs."

Mallory only offered a soft snore at the announcement.

II

With his eyes closed and his feet propped up on a chair, the average person would probably think that Gibbs was asleep. Ducky knew better. Gibbs didn't sleep in public places, at least not deeply. Years of training, first in the Marines and then in NCIS, meant that he was always aware of his surroundings.

"Hey Duck," he said without opening his eyes.

"With a bottle of beer in your hands I could almost picture you in Mexico, Jethro. You look more like a tourist than a special agent."

"I'm the same person I've always been." Gibbs opened his eyes and lowered his feet until he was sitting upright.

"I hope that's true." Ducky's overcoat was draped over one of his arms, and he shook it out and put it on. "Abby would like to see you. She's in room 311. I'm going to check in on Mother and call the team."

"Okay." Gibbs stayed where he was for a moment, and watched as his friend stepped out into the chilly January night. Knowing that nothing was going to make the coming visit any easier he headed in the direction from which Ducky had come.

Flashes of memory washed over him as followed a nurse's directions towards room 311. He had made this trip before, feeling so very different. Then it had been a joyful expectation. He had spent the months before Kelly's birth painting the nursery, fighting over baby names, driving to the store in the middle of the night for pickles. He had been the one to drive Shannon to the hospital and hold her hand through the delivery. When Kelly had cried for the first time he had laughed with joy at the sound.

The nursery, when he passed by, was almost empty. There was a row of clear bassinets lined up in front of the window, with a few gaps. He started looking for one labeled Baby Gibbs before swearing softly under his breath. This baby wouldn't carry his name. There was no tag bearing the name Sciuto either. The baby must be in the room with Abby. When he found the right room he stopped in the doorway, unsure of his welcome in a way he had never felt since the first week Abby had started with NCIS.

"You can come a little closer, Gibbs. Neither of us are going to bite. The little one doesn't have teeth yet, and biting's never been one of my kinks." Abby nodded her head towards the plastic hospital chair next to the bed. "We never did get that talk earlier."

"No, we didn't." He slid into the chair, eyes never leaving the bed's occupants.

"Well, first things first there are some introductions to be made. Gibbs, this is Mallory Caitlin. Mally, this is Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Without reservation she handed him the baby, and he cradled her in practiced hands.

"Hello Mallory." She opened fluttering eyes to greet him, and it only took that first look to fall in love. It didn't matter that he hadn't been expecting her: she was his. He examined her carefully, looking for signs that he had left any impression on her. Mallory's hair was a blonde so pale as to be white. Abby's influence, he guessed. He'd always suspected that there was light hair under all the dye. There was something about the hands that looked similar to his own, and maybe the shape of the jaw. Her nose was the same as Kelly's had been. "She's beautiful."

"I think so too, though I guess neither of us are impartial judges." She reached out her hand and stroked the down soft hair, her finger brushing against Gibbs' hand at the same time. "She's healthy; the doctor said there isn't a thing wrong with her."

Gibbs nodded mutely. He was glad to hear that; funny how the health and safety of this little girl was suddenly so important to him when a day ago he hadn't even know she existed. Tiny eyes blinked open, and he lost himself in their innocent depth. Silently he made the same promises that so many fathers did. He would protect her, take care of her, and love her.

"Why, Abbs?" he asked finally, not needing to qualify the question. He knew what Ducky said, but needed to hear Abby's reasons for not contacting him.

Abby didn't answer at first, but held out her hands for the baby. Not until she had made a cocoon at her side and tucked Mallory against her did Abby speak.

"Do you remember the day you left NCIS?"

"Of course."

"I've been over those last days so many times, trying to figure out what happened, if anything could have been done to change the end result. There were quite a few sleepless nights after you left."

"Abby, I'm sor..."

"Don't apologize, Gibbs. My insomnia wasn't your fault, and besides it's too weird to hear you say sorry. Like I was saying, I kept going over it in my head. Most of all I kept seeing that last night in my mind, like a chapter on a DVD that played over and over. I watched you coming down the stairs, saying your goodbyes. There was this look in your eye; I had seen a hint of it there before but never like that. You were broken. From the time you entered MTAC to the time you came back down the stairs they had taken something away from you, and it wasn't something you could live without." She frowned slightly, shook her head. "Sorry, I'm rambling, and probably not making a lot of sense; blame it on the drugs and the lack of caffeine. The important thing was that I knew you needed the time away from here if you were going to heal. If there was any chance you were going to come back someday I had to give you that time."

"I would have come back for you, and I sure as hell would have come back if I had known about my daughter." He couldn't deny what she said but it made him uncomfortable. It was hard enough for him to admit his weaknesses to himself, harder knowing that she saw through him so completely.

"I know that. I always knew that all I had to do was pick up the phone and you'd be on the next flight. But then what? You would have been in DC, but you wouldn't have been my Gibbs. You would have avoided NCIS, and those were the very people I needed. You would have had to deal with my pregnancy and all it entailed when the memories of your first family were still so painfully close to the surface. Maybe what I did was wrong, but I had to do what I thought was best for everyone."

"Abby, that doesn't..."

"Any chance the new mother is up for some company?" Tony stood in the doorway, Ducky right behind him.

"Isn't it a little past visiting hours?" Abby asked even as she motioned for Tony to come in. Ducky entered behind him, a stuffed bear wearing an i _'It's a Girl' /i _shirt in one hand.

"Don't worry, I snuck past the nurse on duty. Besides if anyone bothers me I'll just flash my ID and say that I'm questioning a suspect. One look at you and they'll understand."

"Very funny, Tony." She rolled her eyes and hugged him tight when he leaned over to greet her. The easy camaraderie between the two was obvious; they looked closer then ever. Deciding to give them a little space Gibbs stood up and wandered over to the window. Neither of them seemed to notice, but Ducky did. After checking on the baby he joined Gibbs in the corner of the room.

"So where's this new munchkin of yours? You sell her to a passing gypsy already?" Tony set a vase of black roses onto the table next to Abby's bed and settled into the chair that Gibbs had occupied moments earlier.

"Like I'd go through fifty bazillion hours of labor and not keep my toy surprise?" She pulled back on the blanket to revel the tiny figure curled up next to her.

"She's gorgeous Abbs." He reached out to touch the baby but froze with his fingers a few inches away.

"Go ahead, Tony, she won't break. You can even hold her if you want." Tony shook his head slightly as he used the pad of one finger to trace a miniature ear.

"I'll work up to that eventually, but I don't want to traumatize the kid so soon. Better give her time to get used to me first." When he traced the baby's palm with his finger her hand reflexively closed, wrapping around his own. Tony's eyes widened slightly. He didn't try to pull away. "I think she's a keeper Abbs."

"You hear that Mally? Uncle Tony says we can keep you." She dropped a kiss on the baby's head and winked at Ducky from across the room. He couldn't help grinning back.

"Uncle Tony," Tony repeated. "I like that. And did you call her Mally? The kid has a name already?"

"You didn't really think I was gong to go around calling her 'the baby' did you? Her name is Mallory Caitlin."

"Kate?" Tony pulled his gaze away from the infant and looked at Abby. "That's perfect."

"I wish they could have met." Though Abby didn't notice, both of the men in the corner of the room nodded their heads in agreement.

"Maybe they have, Abby. Maybe Kate is your daughter's guardian angel. In fact I bet she is. You couldn't ask for a better protector then that, right?" He was teasing, but underneath was sincerity. As a child he had believed in such things.

"In many tribal cultures they believe that naming a child after a relative that has passed on gives the new life the protection of that family member." Ducky crossed the room, standing on the other side of Abby's bed and resting his hand on her shoulder. Abby had a hint of tears in her eyes.

"It's rather late, Anthony," Ducky said pointedly.

"Yeah, I should be going. The rest of the team will be here in the morning, Abbs. I convinced them to wait until you had a little rest before visiting."

"Thanks Tony. And make sure you tell Jimmy and Michelle," she reminded him.

"I said the team, didn't I?" After kissing both mother and daughter on their foreheads he left.

"We should be going too, my dear. You've had a long day." Before Ducky could pull his hand away Abby sandwiched it under her own hand.

"Not yet, Ducky. Stay a little longer."

"Only if you try to go to sleep. You need your rest, Abigail."

"I sleep better when I know you are close by." Gibbs took her confession as his cue to leave. He was almost out of the room when Abby stopped him.

"You'll be back tomorrow," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Tomorrow," he agreed. Leaving the room he headed for the elevator that would take him to the parking garage. His musty abandoned house was all that was waiting for him.

Exhausted, Abby fell asleep quickly. A few hours later when a hungry Mallory started whimpering, she opened her eyes to find that Ducky was still there, asleep in the chair.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: It's always a bittersweetness to reach the end of a story like this. I had so much fun spending time with the characters, and just as much fun reading the comments from all of you. Thanks to my beta, my friends, and all of you for coming on this journey with me. And who knows, maybe I'll have to revisit Mallory again…

II

Mallory was sleeping in her bassinet when Tony appeared a few minutes before visiting hours began the next morning, a CD player in one hand and a pair of coffee cups precariously balanced in the other. Ducky started to protest when Tony handed one of the cups to Abby, but Tony cut him off.

"It's not coffee, it's chai tea. I asked Jeanne and she said it was okay." The other paper cup he handed to Ducky. "Earl Grey for you. I added the cream already but I wasn't sure about sweetener. There's a handful of sugar and honey packets in my pocket if you want any."

"This is just perfect. Thank you, Tony, it was very thoughtful of you." The tea was welcome, just what he needed after his awkward night's sleep in the hospital chair. Tony had grown up so much in the last year, Ducky mused.

Over the next hour the rest of the team arrived, and none of them were empty handed. McGee came with a stack of books, one of nursery rhymes and half a dozen Doctor Seuss stories. In true McGee style he presented them while explaining about a study he had read about reading to children as infants. Somehow he had also managed to remember which Seuss books Abby already had and filled in some of the gaps.

Jimmy and Michelle arrived together, to Abby's amusement. Michelle presented her with a teal silk baby's blanket decorated with shimmering silver dragonflies. For luck, she explained softly. Abby was touched, and delighted in rubbing the smooth fabric against her skin. She was even more pleased to see that Jimmy carried a hippo under each arm.

"You left in such a hurry yesterday, and I figured that it would be a while before you returned to the lab, and I thought that... I mean I... here." Jimmy thrust the larger hippo at her, his face turning pink.

"You are a sweet man, Jimmy Palmer." Abby accepted Bert and gave him a squeeze. No one remarked on the farting noise. Jimmy set the smaller hippo down at the edge of the bed and took a step back.

Ziva was the last member of the team- the active team- to arrive. The whole room erupted in laughter when she entered in a cloud of mylar balloons.

"I have seen enough American movies and sitcoms. This is a common tradition when making a hospital visit," Ziva said, shoving the balloons into the corner of the room. The ribbon of one somehow twisted around her wrist and when she stepped away from them the balloons followed her.

"They are just what we need for the appropriate festive atmosphere," Ducky reassured her with a smile.

"That and a little music. Tony?" Abby hinted.

"As you wish." He found an outlet- the lamp didn't really need to be plugged in- and inserted a CD. Surprisingly not even the addition of Android Lust to all the other voices was enough to wake up Mallory, proving that she was indeed Abby's daughter. Tony ramified the fact with a few gentle pokes when no one was watching, and soon he was lording it over McGee that he was the first person to hold the new baby.

"Not quite, Tony. I might have been on some rather pleasant drugs but I do remember holding her," Abby teased as she watched him carefully.

"You're the mom, Abbs. You don't count."

"What about Ducky? He held her quite a few times yesterday. He even changed her diaper."

"First of all that's not something I envy; in fact I declare right now that I am not ever pulling diaper duty. Also when I said team I meant agents. I'm the first field agent to hold Mallory."

Not that either, Abby almost said, but she stopped herself. Gibbs wasn't really an agent anymore, though she'd always consider him one.

"Now how do expect to play to part of doting uncle if you won't even change a diaper?" she asked instead.

"Simple. I'll be the one that spoils her with junk food and toys and when she's dirty or crying I'll pass her on to someone else."

"Typical, Tony. Passing on the responsibility when ever possible, that's just like you." Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Good to see some things don't change." Gibbs stood in the doorway, clean-shaven but dressed almost as he had been the day before.

In an instant the music from the CD player was the only noise in the room. As so often happens in life the song ended at the same time Michelle poked Jimmy and whispered "Who is that?" Jimmy was surreptitiously looking from Ducky to Abby, in order to gauge their reactions, and didn't answer.

"I'm Gibbs. Who are you?" Gibbs took a step into the room and crossed his arms, looking every bit the team leader they were used to despite the flowered shirt and frayed jeans.

"Gibbs be nice," Abby cautioned softly. Tony handed the baby to Ziva, who was standing next to him, and positioned himself between his former boss and newest employee.

"This is Special Agent Michelle Lee, my probie." Tony placed the slightest emphasis on the word i _my /i _. Gibbs' gaze flickered to meet the man's eyes before he held out his right hand in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Agent Lee."

"Nice to meet you too Agent... I mean Mr... um, sir."

"Don't call him sir," Tony and McGee said at the same time.

"Just Gibbs will be fine."

"Yes si... Gibbs."

"Hey Gibbs now that you're here do you want to hold your... um, Mallory? Because I'm sure that Ziva would be more then willing to hand her over." Tony was surprised, however, when he turned and found that Ziva didn't look quite so willing. The baby was cradled tenderly in has arms and she was swaying gently from the hips. She was also crooning something in a foreign language.

"Thanks, Tony, but she looks comfortable where she is."

"She's not the only one. Ziva?"

"You don't need to look so shocked, Tony. I have held a baby before. I know what to do." As if wanting to prove Ziva wrong, Mallory choose that exact moment to start crying. When she didn't stop immediately Ziva crossed the room and handed the crying infant to Abby. "I think she wants you."

"Hey peanut, did you want your mom?" When Mallory nuzzled against her breast Abby laughed. "So it's not wanting mom so much as it is wanting to be feed. I should have known." Disregarding the fact that the room was full of people, Abby lifted up her pajama top and guided a nipple to the hungry mouth.

"Abby!" McGee exclaimed. Jimmy turned bright red.

"Oh please, Timmy. It's not like anyone in the room hasn't seen a breast before."

"Yeah, but... I mean..." McGee stuttered. Abby rolled her eyes.

"Gibbs, can you hand me the blanket on the chair next to you?"

Gibbs picked up the silk baby's blanket but didn't give it to her. He hesitated a moment, taking in the scene of mother and daughter bonding together, and then gently covered them both with the blanket.

"Thanks."

Conversation in the room continued until Abby yawned and Tony noted that it was well past lunch time and maybe they should go find some lunch and leave Abby to rest. They all said their goodbyes to Abby and the newest Scutio before filing out of the room. Only Ducky and Gibbs remained.

"I'm afraid I must leave for a while too, my dear. Ms. Kendle agreed to stay with Mother for as long as we need her, but I do feel the need to go check in on them."

"Of course you have to go, Ducky. Give your mother my love and tell her I'll challenge her to a game of Hearts when I get back. And maybe you should take a nap; that chair couldn't have been at all comfortable last night."

"It's no more uncomfortable than the chair in autopsy, and heaven knows I've fallen asleep there plenty of times."

"That might be true, but I've slept in chairs and I've slept in your bed, and of the two your bed wins the comfort contest by a mile. Besides, this might be one of your last chances to sleep without having to worry about a crying baby down the hall waking you up."

"I'm going to stick around for a while if that helps, Duck," Gibbs offered, biting his tongue to keep from asking how, exactly, she knew what Ducky's bed was like, knowing that he didn't have that right. "If it's okay with Abbs."

"That's perfect. You can go check on your mom, Ducky, get a nap and come back in time to tell Mallory a bedtime story, and while your gone I can pester Gibbs for details of his Mexican vacation."

"Well clearly I'm outnumbered. I had better make a gracious exit before Miss Mallory adds her vote. I'll be back in time for dinner, my dear. Is there anything I need to bring you from the house?"

"I don't think..." Abby squinted her eyes and wrinkled her nose. "Wait, there is. The overnight bag next to Mallory's crib. It has the dress for her to wear home tomorrow and an outfit for me, because as comfy as it is, this nightgown just isn't fashionable enough for the wheelchair ride out of her."

"I believe I can remember that. Now don't overtax yourself. If _you_ need a nap take one, and don't forget that the nurses are only a call away." Ducky smoothed the blankets on the bed and kissed Abby on the forehead, ignoring her teasing comment about his being a mother hen.

When Ducky left the room fell silent. Despite her earlier comment Abby didn't ask for any stories of Gibbs' months away, and he didn't readily supply any. When Gibbs finally did speak Abby was shocked that the first words out of his mouth were about Kelly.

"She'd be twenty-two now, but I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. I didn't think I was ready, it all happened so quickly. I got a phone call from Shan and a couple of hours later I was holding my daughter."

"I bet you are an awesome dad for her, Gibbs. I've seen you with Sandy and Zach and Emily; I think I always knew there had to be a Kelly in your past. You're too natural with kids not to have any experience. You'll be good with Mallory too."

"After all I've put you through, and you still.." Gibbs shook his head, awed by the loyalty of the woman sitting on the bed.

"I'm not asking you to be her dad if that's not what you want. To be completely honest I'm not sure what I want, or how I feel now that your back. I know that Ducky's been with me one hundred percent through this pregnancy and I don't want that to change. I also know that Mallory's life can only be for the better if you choose to be in it." As if to second her mother's vote Mallory blinked her eyes and let out a squeak.

"I'm not sure about very much of this either, Abbs. I do know that I'm not going anywhere, though. The rest of it we'll have to figure out. We have time, right?"

"Yeah, we have time."

II

The next morning Abby sat impatiently on the edge of the bed. "If they don't show up soon I'm going to take my kid and leave. They can figure out the paperwork themselves."

"I believe, since a birth certificate is a legal document necessary for all manner of things, they might frown on you leaving without filling one out." Ducky sat next to her on the bed, rocking slightly back and forth as he patted the baby on her back.

"Yeah, well, then they should show up when they say they will." She had been in the same room for a day and a half now, traveling no farther from the bed than to the bathroom. It was a too vivid reminder of her confinement at the beginning of her pregnancy. Heaving a sigh she smoothed out a wrinkle on her shirt and glared at the doorway that remained annoyingly empty.

It was another half hour before anyone appeared. The form was longer then she expected but not difficult. For place of residence she gave Ducky's address, for surname she listed Sciuto. The only qualm she had was the line that listed paternity; if she had hadher way she would have listed two men in the space. She didn't think the hospital would be amused, so she only listed Gibbs.

Finally everything was taken care of and she was discharged. She held Mallory in her arms while a nurse pushed the wheelchair and Ducky walked alongside them. The moment they crossed the hospital threshhold Abby signaled for the nurse to halt and gingerly raised herself from the chair.

"We'll walk from here, thanks," she told the nurse, who seemed to decide that there was no point in protesting.

"It's rather fortuitous that I managed to find a parking space close to the building. You could have been in for a bit of a walk," Ducky commented pointedly.

"Don't worry about me, Duck. It feels good to stretch my legs." Abby scanned the row of cars, trying to find the familiar silver Morgan. "I thought you said you parked close?"

"I did." Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, Ducky removed a key ring and pressed a button on the tiny remote control. Directly in front of them the lights of a champagne colored Lincoln MKX flashed. "Your chariot awaits, my dear."

"Ducky, that's not your Morgan." Abby looked from the shiny new car to her companion and back to the car.

"There wasn't any room in the Morgan for a car-seat. After doing some rather extensive research I picked this car. Conveniently it was delivered to the house the same day you gave birth to Mallory, and was waiting in the driveway when I went home to check on Mother." As he spook he opened the back door, releasing the subtle smell of a new car. An infant car-seat was already secured in its place. Abby gently lowered the baby into the seat, covering her with a blanket before working out how to fasten the complicated seat-belt.

"Every time I think you couldn't possibly be more perfect, you turn around and do something like this." As she gave Ducky a hug her eyes misted with tears. Quickly she blinked them away, blaming residual hormones for causing them.

"I'm far from perfect, Abigail. In fact this is pure indulgence on my part; I couldn't very well spirit your daughter away whenever I wanted to if I didn't have appropriate transportation, now could I?"

"I stand by my original remark. You are perfect." Trying to smother a yawn Abby allowed Ducky to open the passenger door for her. Before fastening her own seat-belt she craned her head around to check on Mallory. She was delighted to find that Ducky had hung a mirror from the read headrest, allowing her to see the baby without resorting to yoga like contortions. With the car's sun visor at just the right angle she could see the baby mirror, and was able to keep an eye on her daughter the entire drive home.

II

"It's about time." Followed by a pack of Corgis, Victoria Mallard met them in the entryway with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, Mother, but I told you I wouldn't be home until this afternoon." Ducky lowered the duffle bag onto the floor but kept a supportive hand resting at Abby's lower back.

"Thirty years is far too long to ask me to wait, Donald."

"Thirty years? I wasn't even gone for three days." Despite his best intentions a small sigh escaped. He was not in the mood to puzzle out his mother's odd comments.

"I'm not talking about how long you were away. I'm referring to the fact that it's taken you more then thirty years to give me a grandchild. I understand about young men needing time to sow their wild oats and all that, but I believe I started asking for a grandchild sometime in the mid seventies." Victoria walked straight for Abby, not asking for permission before pulling the blanket away from Mallory's face.

"Mallory is not your granddaughter. She's Abby's baby, remember?"

"Of course she's Abby's baby. I certainly didn't expect you to give birth to the child. Maybe if I had made that clearer you would have given me grandchildren sooner?"

"Good things are worth waiting for, aren't they?" Knowing that there was no point arguing or using logic, Abby stepped into the conversation.

"That they are, my dear. I'm very glad you made him understand." Victoria's hand shook slightly as she stroked the downy blond hair of the infant. "Donald's hair was almost that same color in his youth. Later I shall show you pictures."

"I'd like that." Though it was unlikely that Victoria would remember her promise, Abby made a mental note to ask Ducky about pictures at a later date. It would be fun to see what he looked like as a child.

Victoria nodded contentedly and crossed the entryway towards her bedroom. Standing in the threshold she turned briefly. "Children should have brothers and sisters," she remarked, closing the door while Ducky stared at her flabbergasted.

"I'm sorry about that," Ducky apologized.

"Don't be silly. If your mother didn't greet us with outrageous comments, I'd think we had walked into the wrong house. Besides, she might have a crazy way of showing it but she cares about you and worries like a mother should."

"Yes, well that may be true but it's still going to be interesting. Just wait until Mallory is old enough to ask questions." Abby tried to stifle a yawn, but Ducky noticed and quickly forgot about his Mother's deluded beliefs. "Come upstairs, my dear. I believe it's time for a nap."

"No arguments here." Walking up the stairs Abby stopped short of her own bedroom, instead standing in front of Ducky's door. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Preceding her into the room, Ducky drew back the covers of the bed. When Abby held out the baby to him Ducky accepted, placing Mallory in the middle of the bed while Abby leaned down to remove her shoes. He waited until she was lying down before tucking the blankets around the mother and daughter. Walking around to the other side of the bed he toed off his own shoes before getting into the bed.

Abby placed her hand on Mallory's back, needing to feel the gentle rise and fall as she took each breath. She was almost asleep when she felt the warm touch of a hand covering her own. Content, Abby let herself drift into sleep.


End file.
